← Return to menu

Logistics facility planning and improvement | Related knowledge

distribution center planning

2-8. Service life of logistics equipment and comprehensive base planning data

Including estimates of the service life and lease of automated pallet warehouses, comparison of in-house construction vs. rental, bank loan repayment simulation, construction cost examples in Sagamihara City, etc.Comprehensive explanatory materials regarding capital investment and base planning for distribution centersis.

1. Depreciation period (statutory useful life) of automated pallet warehouses

Automated warehouses are a combination of elements such as buildings, racks, cranes, and control systems (software), so they are subject to tax implications.The useful life differs depending on the asset classification.

Asset classification Main target Legal useful life (estimate) remarks
machinery and equipment Stacker crane, transfer conveyor, loading/unloading control section 10 years Applicable as “logistics machinery/equipment” or “warehousing equipment”
Equipment and supplies Steel racks (shelves), pallets, etc. 8 years to 12 years Depends on rack structure and fixing method
software WMS/WCS (Warehouse Control System) 5 years Intangible fixed assets (software for internal use)
Building auxiliary equipment Automated warehouse integrated building/fire protection/electrical equipment 15 years to 31 years In the case of building-integrated automated warehouse (rack build)
💡Practical points

In accounting practice, the entire equipment is grouped together."Machine and equipment (10 year service life)"orDepreciation is divided into “rack part (12 years)” and “control part (5 to 10 years)”It is common to do so.

2. Lease transaction structure and lease rate

Rather than purchasing equipment with own funds or bank loans,finance leaseIf you use , your monthly lease fee will consist of the following elements:

Monthly lease fee = (property price [CAPEX] + interest rate + fixed asset tax + non-life insurance premium) ÷ lease period (number of months)
Estimated lease rate (annual)

3. 200 million yen scale PL automated warehouse lease fee simulation

[Prerequisites]
Trial calculation items calculation formula Amount (excluding tax)
Property price 200,000,000 yen
Monthly lease fee 200 million yen × 0.95% 1,900,000 yen / month
annual lease fee 1.9 million yen per month x 12 months 22,800,000 yen / year
Total lease fee for 10 years 1.9 million yen per month × 120 months 228,000,000 yen
(Recalculated: total interest, tax, and insurance premiums) Total: 228 million yen - Main unit: 200 million yen 28,000,000 yen(+14% compared to main unit)

*In addition to the above, daily manufacturer maintenance costs (OPEX: approximately 6 million to 10 million yen per year) will be incurred separately.

4. Comparison of purchase (ownership/straight-line method) and leasing

Comparison items Purchase (10-year straight-line amortization) 10 year finance lease
initial cash out 200 million yen (or borrowing) 0 yen(first monthly fee only)
1st year expense (P/L) Depreciation cost 20 million yen/year lease fee22.8 million yen/year
Interest rate/total cost Bank loan interest only (low total cost) Fees, taxes, and insurance included (total cost is a little high)
Fixed asset tax/payment affairs Need to declare, pay, and manage in-house Processed by leasing company(No administrative burden)
Ownership after the term ends Owned by the company (can be used free of charge after 11th year) Return or re-lease (continuing at 1/10 of the annual amount, etc.)

5. Comparison of manual operation (forklift) and PL automated warehouse

Comparison items Flat / Pallet rack + lift PL automatic warehouse (pallet AS/RS)
Main overview Rack installation in existing warehouse, liftman driving cargo handling Stacker crane automatically runs on high-rise three-dimensional rack
Initial investment (CAPEX) Low (about 10 million to 20 million yen) High (approximately 200 million yen)
Required number of tsubos (assuming 1,000 PL) Approximately 350 to 500 tsubo Approximately 100 to 150 tsubo(Reduce area by up to 70%)
Effective use of ceiling height Low (up to about 5-6m) Extremely high (use of space over 10-20m)
Required personnel expenses (workers) High (3 to 5 lift workers permanently stationed) Extremely low (about 1 person for input)

Criteria for determining operation method

[Warehouses where you should choose flat storage/pallet rack operation]


[Warehouse to choose PL automated warehouse (200 million yen scale)]

6. Monthly cost (2.5 million yen/month) offset simulation for PL automated warehouse

Monthly offset amount (2.5 million yen) = Rent reduction amount + Labor saving amount + Others (overtime/accident reduction)
Three achievement scenarios

Pattern A: [Balanced type] Standard suburban warehouse (price per tsubo: 6,000 yen)

Improved storage efficiency:250 tsubo reduction × 6,000 yen =1.5 million yen / month
Labor-saving effect:Reduction of 3 lift workers =1.2 million yen / month
[Total effect] 2.7 million yen/month (Monthly balance: +200,000 yen/month surplus)

Pattern B: [Location-oriented type] High rent warehouse near urban area (price per tsubo 10,000 yen)

Improved storage efficiency:200 tsubo reduction × 10,000 yen =2 million yen / month
Labor-saving effect:Reduction in lift workers by 1.5 =600,000 yen / month
[Total effect] 2.6 million yen/month (Monthly balance: +100,000 yen/month surplus)

Pattern C: [Specialized labor shortage type] Warehouse with high dispatch ratio

Improved storage efficiency:150 tsubo reduction × 5,000 yen =750,000 yen / month
Labor-saving effect:Reduction of 4 lift workers =1.8 million yen / month
Reduction of incorrect shipments/accidents: 100,000 yen/month
[Total effect] 2.65 million yen/month (Monthly balance: +150,000 yen/month surplus)

7. Construction cost example in Sagamihara City (3,000 tsubo site, 1,800 tsubo one-story building)

item [Standard / low cost specifications] [High spec/good location specifications]
Land purchase cost (3,000 tsubo) 1.20 billion yen (400,000 yen/tsubo) 1.80 billion yen (600,000 yen/tsubo)
Building construction cost (1,800 tsubo) 1.17 billion yen (650,000 yen/tsubo) 1.53 billion yen (850,000 yen/tsubo)
Exterior/civil engineering costs 80 million yen 120 million yen
Design, application, incidental expenses 50 million yen 80 million yen
[Total cost (excluding tax)] 2.50 billion yen 3.53 billion yen

8. 10-year TCO comparison of in-house construction (3 billion yen) vs. rental (1,800 tsubo)

cost item ① Own construction (own home) ② Rental property (used for 10 years) Notes/Supplements
Initial investment (CAPEX) 3.0 billion yen 120 million yen ① Land 1.5 billion + Building 1.5 billion / ② Security deposit + C construction
Monthly fixed payment (10 years cumulative) 0 yen(excluding loan repayments) 1.08 billion yen Rent + common service fee (9 million yen per month x 120 months)
[Total expenditure for 10 years] 3.43 billion yen 1.26 billion yen Pure cash out total
Residual value after 10 years ▲ 2.20 billion yen(assets) 0 yen Land 1.5 billion + Building depreciation remaining approximately 700 million
[Real ownership cost for 10 years] 1.23 billion yen 1.26 billion yen Total expenditure − Asset amount after 10 years (equivalent at 10th year)

9. Bank loan (3 billion yen, 1.5%, 20 years repayment) simulation

Repayment terms/estimate
Capital outflow/cost items ① In-house construction (3 billion loan, 20 year repayment) ② Rental property (used for 10 years) Difference/remarks
[Total cash out over 10 years] 2.168 billion yen 1.260 billion yen ① +908 million yen
Impact on net worth after 10 years ▲ 118 million yen 0 yen Assets 1.5 billion yen − Liabilities 1.618 billion yen
[Actual burden for 10 years] 2.286 billion yen 1.260 billion yen Actual burden including movement of net assets
💡 Conclusion and selection guidelines

・ Emphasis on capital efficiency and speed of expansion:Initial cash out is more than 900 million yen less"Rental"It is advantageous to choose and invest the funds in material handling equipment and business expansion.

・ Focus on ultra-long-term fixed cost reduction and asset formation:After the loan is paid off (21st year onwards), the annual fixed costs will be drastically reduced to approximately 35 million yen (tax and maintenance costs only)“In-house construction (loan)”has a long-term advantage.

← Return to menu list