A Turnkey Approach to Manufacturing Location Decisions

When scouting locations for a retailer, an experienced real estate team knows precisely what to look for: sites that have high visibility, easy accessibility, and close proximity to a population base and competing stores. By comparing options that meet this small handful of criteria, the final selection can be relatively simple.

Compare that to locating a new manufacturing facility. As many as 70 or more different variables can influence site selection — from infrastructure, logistical, and incentive considerations to permitting requirements, staffing needs, and community acceptance concerns. Site selection models for these facilities, therefore, can be notoriously complex. The strengths or weaknesses of each alternative can potentially impact facility design and a host of other variables, making the process of comparing and ranking alternatives even more challenging. Apples-to-apples comparisons of sites are rare.

Some site selectors are better equipped to conduct searches that involve complex infrastructure and permitting requirements than others. A closer look at manufacturing site selection criteria illustrates why.

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