Jones Lang LaSalle Japan CRE Index 2013
As we inaugurate the Japan Corporate Real Estate (CRE) Survey 2013, we are proud to release Jones Lang LaSalle Japan CRE Index,
the first endeavor to measure the status of CRE in the country. Comparing survey responses from CRE executives in Japan and the rest
of the world (RoW), the index outlines a gap analysis of where the CRE function stands today compared to its global peers.
A good analogy is worth a thousand words. CRE teams are very much like a crew on a sailboat—the team sizes, organizations, structures
and equipment vary and are a good indication of what the ship owner (the C-suite) wants them to be. The captain holds the compass
in his hands, bent on making the right decisions and directing his ship to the right harbor. And the wind represents the driving force that
gives the ship the impetus needed to reach its goal.
Far from being a didactic or directive indicator—there are no right or wrong answers in our surveys, our index aspires to trigger
conversations around the issues that CRE captains have in mind. We hope for lively debates among our readers, whichever their degree
of involvement in CRE is.
The 2013 index draws a line in the sand. Our ambition is to refresh the index every other year to map the development and maturation of
the CRE function in Japan.
Index Summary
Japan
Rest of the World
Structure and Resources (Ship & Crew)
18
33
Strategy (Compass)
10
40
Driving Force/Governance (Wind)
23
52
“Without goals and plans to reach them,
you are like a ship that has set sail with
no destination.”
― Michel de Montaigne (French philosopher, 1533–1592)
Structure and Resources
(Ship & Crew)
Almost a third (32%) of CRE leaders reside in dedicated
CRE departments, versus 39% globally. Although CRE
services are delivered successfully in many companies
without one, it is interesting to note that a correlation is
observed between the existence of a dedicated department
and the respondents’ confidence of being able to meet the
demands from senior leadership.
Today, the collaboration of CRE with other business
functions (HR, IT and finance) has reached a sharedservices level for 14% of the respondents in Japan, versus
37% in the RoW. Globally, there is a clear sense that
increased collaboration is an opportunity to be in a better
position to deliver on the workplace productivity agenda.
Can you afford not to?
Vouching for rigorous processes, internal procurement
teams are increasingly actively involved in CRE decision
making. This is already the case in 14% of responding
companies in Japan, versus 37% elsewhere
where procurement already has a
stronghold. If the internal
procurement teams are
CRE-savvy enough and
able to balance cost and
value, they can add value
to the process. Tip:
recruit them to assist!
By nature, CRE is a
cost center. However,
forward-looking companies also
consider the value, and to some
extent, the profit, which can be
derived from this asset. Only 10% of respondents
in Japan believe in that potential versus 17% in the RoW.
Score: Japan 18/RoW 33
Strategy
(Compass)
Strategy matters show
Japan and the RoW at their
greatest divergence. Only
4% of respondents in
Japan report that CRE
and business strategies
are entirely aligned today,
versus 54% elsewhere. We
do not believe that this lack
of alignment is sustainable, given the
added expectations placed on CRE.
Among the various processes used to select outsourced
suppliers, sending an RFP to all suppliers is also a very
occasional practice in Japan (4%) compared to the RoW
(48%) where it is the preferred method. How long before
CRE and/or procurement teams in Japan adopt this best
practice?
In terms of attitudes toward outsourcing, 17% in Japan
still consider that outsourcing represents a strategic
relationship, assessing longer-term value add with a partner
(as opposed to considering outsourcing as a tactical
transaction, mainly with the lowest cost supplier). This
is lower than the 30% response rate elsewhere, but we
believe that the sentiment is moving toward global trends.
As a possible consequence, planning horizons applied to
CRE strategy are considerably shorter in Japan, with only
18% of respondents in Japan benefiting from a timeline
of three years and above, versus 48% elsewhere. This
reveals that many Japan CRE leaders are reduced to lineof-sight navigation.
Technology is the industry’s Achilles’ heel. CRE teams in
Japan seem to be even less well equipped, with only 11 %
of respondents feeling that they have everything they need
to extract real estate metrics at facility and portfolio level,
versus 23% in the RoW.
Score: Japan 10/RoW 40
Driving Force/Governance
(Wind)
In other countries globally, more than half (58%) of CRE
executives report to senior leadership; this is the case
for 26% of them in Japan. The visibility acquired by CRE
leaders on the aftermaths of the global financial crisis
seems to be less of a reality in Japan. Would it make sense
in Japan as well to have CRE more in evidence of the
senior leadership’s radar?
CRE is being asked to help increase productivity for the
entire organization. Today, only 33% of CRE teams in Japan
are facing high expectations to improve the productivity of
people, workplaces, business and real estate assets, as
compared with almost twice as many (61%) in the RoW.
However, productivity improvement expectations are
cascading down in Japanese companies and we believe
that CRE teams should brace themselves for this demand
earlier than expected.
Overall, the entire spectrum of demands placed on CRE
teams is broadening and intensifying, requiring action at
both tactical and strategic levels. CRE is being challenged
to impact and add value to a wider range of agenda items
such as delivering a platform for growth in select markets,
attracting and retaining talent, driving sustainability agenda,
bringing more flexibility to the leasehold portfolio, creating
on-demand space for the business, presenting scenarios
and solutions to the business on demand and bringing
innovation into the real estate function and portfolio.
Faced with such amplified expectations, CRE leaders
in Japan are not confident that they have what it
takes to deliver. None of them feel they are “well
equipped to meet all demands,” both strategic
and tactical, whereas 28% of their global peers
do. How equipped are you to meet these
demands?
Score: Japan 23/RoW 52
“A ship is always
safe at the shore, but
that is not what it is
built for.”
― Albert Einstein
Methodology
The Jones Lang LaSalle Japan CRE Index is developed
based on results from Jones Lang LaSalle’s Global
Corporate Real Estate Survey 2013. The survey collected
responses from 636 CRE executives across 39 countries,
a large sample base representing a broad cross section of
the corporate community, with a diverse range of sectors,
locations and company sizes.
For the purpose of this analysis, we analyzed the responses
from the 31 Japanese companies located in Japan only.
Thirteen specific questions and responses were chosen
from the survey and grouped under three dimensions:
structure and resources (illustrated as a ship and its crew);
strategy (represented by a compass); and driving force/
governance (shown as the wind). These categories highlight
some of the key components instrumental to the success
of the CRE function and allow us to more clearly outline the
major up-and-coming trends in our profession.
For each question, the index only takes into account the
benchmark answers that can be correlated to the highest
degree of maturity of the CRE function, as observed
globally. This is one way of pinpointing responses from
Japanese companies, establishing their current position
and mapping it against that of organizations in the RoW.
It is by no means a recommendation or an indication of
performance applicable indiscriminately to all companies.
Equal weighting is used throughout the index. To determine
an average percentage for each index dimension, the
sum of its percentages is divided by the total number of
questions. Similarly, an average percentage for the overall
index is computed by averaging the percentages of the
three dimensions.
Jones Lang LaSalle was supported by the market survey
experts of Kadence International in collecting, compiling and
segmenting the research data.
Visit www.jll.com/globalCREtrends to explore the global
trends in more detail. See how CRE executives based in
your region responded and compare your answers with
the global survey results. Additional reports for specific
countries and industry sectors will be posted to this site as
they are released throughout the year.
Structure and
Resources
Question Within what department does the global head of CRE reside?
Answer Dedicated CRE department
Question Today, how would you describe the collaboration of CRE with each of the following business functions: HR, IT and finance?
Answer A shared-services type of integration
Question Is your internal procurement team actively involved in CRE?
Answer Yes, on a permanent basis
Question CRE is considered in my organization to be…
Answer …more as a profit-center function
Strategy
Question Currently, to what extent is your CRE strategy aligned to your company’s broader business strategies/corporate goals?
Answer Entirely aligned
Question What best describes your organization’s policy regarding the selection of outsourced suppliers?
Answer Request for Proposal (RFP) sent to all suppliers
Question Which of the following statements best corresponds to your current attitudes toward outsourcing?
Answer Outsourcing represents a strategic relationship where I assess longer-term value add with a partner
Question What planning horizon do you apply to your CRE strategy?
Answer Three years or longer
Question How would you rate your current ability to extract real estate metrics (i.e., space held, costs and vacancy) on demand?
Answer We have everything we need
Driving Force/
Governance
Question To what level of the organization does the global head of CRE currently report?
Answer Senior leadership (i.e., C-Suite: CEO, CFO, CIO and COO)
Question What productivity outcomes are your company expecting the CRE function to deliver?
Answer High expectations to improve:
• asset productivity (ROI and sustainability credentials);
• workplace productivity (reinforce safety; reduce/avoid costs; reduce risk; and increase space utilization and flexibility);
• business productivity (improve output quality, improve output quantity and increase speed to market);
• people productivity (attract and retain staff; foster innovation; and enable collaboration).
Question How are the demands of senior leadership on the CRE team changing in terms of the following areas?
• delivering a platform for growth in select markets;
• attracting and retaining talent;
• transforming the quality of the portfolio/workplace (i.e., alternative workplace strategies and new workplace standards);
• enhancing productivity of the real estate portfolio;
• enabling remote and mobile working;
• driving sustainability agenda;
• bringing more flexibility to the leasehold portfolio;
• creating on demand space for the business;
• presenting scenarios and solutions to the business on demand;
• bringing innovation into the real estate function and portfolio;
• aligning CRE with business drivers and functional areas (HR, IT and finance).
Answer Demand is increasing
Question How equipped are you to meet these demands?
Answer Well equipped to meet all demands
For more information, please contact:
Risks Ahead: Global Corporate Real Estate Trends 2013
Jones Lang LaSalle’s second biennial global corporate real estate report provides powerful insights into the current condition
and future direction of the corporate real estate industry. Based on the responses of more than 600 corporate real estate
executives from 39 countries, we have identified five emerging global corporate real estate trends, each with its associated
risks and specific actions that can be taken to manage those risks.
Toshiro Sato
Head of Strategic Portfolio Services
Jones Lang LaSalle, Japan
[email protected]
Takahiro Takahashi
Strategic Portfolio Services
Jones Lang LaSalle, Japan
[email protected]
Visit www.jll.com/globalCREtrends to explore the global trends in more detail. See how CRE executives based in your
region responded and compare your answers with the global survey results. Additional reports for specific countries and
industry sectors will be posted to this site as they are released throughout the year.
Research for this Index was conducted by Anne Thoraval and Henry Liao from
Jones Lang LaSalle’s Corporate Research team in Asia Pacific.
www.joneslanglasalle.co.jp