Having the experience from the clients’ side – he was responsible for the design and development of logistics for Decathlon worldwide at his previous job – Álvaro Nieto was a great fit for P3’s Spain when he joined us two years ago. After 2 years spent with big logistic projects in European countries, China, Turkey and India he came back home to work with us as Project manager. So, let’s meet Álvaro, who is not only an experienced logistics manager and our Head of Construction, but also a passionate petrolhead and a regular sportsman with an eternal smile on his face.
Adapting to change and the needs of the client is fundamental in real estate. What is the most important thing you have learned in this respect?
Especially in the Build to Suit projects, it is to know the client’s needs, all the specific characteristics, operations and processes. I have been on the other side, so I see what these needs are and I can understand these requirements, whether it is online sales, classic retail or refrigerated warehouses for any material.
What are those customers’ needs concerning logistics?
Logistics has been taking a 180º turn for some years now. The adaptation to e-commerce which is going to be one of the motors of logistics is an important fact to which we must adapt the mechanization of processes to increase productivity. Likewise, one of the handicaps we are facing is limited space. This leads to improvements in productivity and operations which requires adapting the regulations to the needs of the client. All of this is always in line with safety regulations and established requirements.
“In real estate we have to create and give shape to a project which initially is on a piece of paper, a project that is useful and provides service to companies, firms and also generates work.”
How did you grow with P3 professionally?
P3 is a very young company in Spain and it is growing very fast. If you do your job well it is a company that appreciates that and recognizes it. I started in 2018 as Project Manager, focused on the Amazon project in Illescas. Then I took part in new projects and in mid-2019, due to the growth of the company, the Project Manager department grew with new acquisitions and at the end of the year I was appointed Head of Construction for Spain.
What was the biggest challenge for you at P3?
We have done several complex projects, such as cold storage warehouses, the warehouse we developed for Airbus, which was complicated due to its characteristics, but we still accommodated to changes requested by the client. However, Amazon has been a greater challenge because it demands 200% on a daily basis. It involved a project at a short notice, on a fast track and requiring a high level of quality. Also, it was my first project outside my comfort zone, a novel and very challenging project. The project was dogged by problems due to the rain which required us to meet very tight deadlines while maintaining very high standards. I think we met them and delivered on time as well.