Selecting the right location for your U.S. manufacturing plant is a complicated process. It is critical to have knowledge of the process, the stakeholders, the regulators, and the information you should consider in making this decision, to ensure nothing is missed that may otherwise cost you time and money during the site selection process or in the future.

A Checklist of Site Selection Project Do’s and Don’ts:

• DO give careful consideration to the composition of your internal project team. Be sure that relevant functional areas (such as Finance, Human Resources, Real Estate, Operations, etc.) have appropriate representation on the team.
• DO define your operational requirements – both immediate and long-term -- before evaluating potential alternatives.
• DO consider the overall cost environment.
• DO invest the time to assess labor skill availability.
• DO follow a well-designed elimination process that provides an efficient path forward, providing confidence that a rigorous process has been employed to arrive at the final decision.
• DO engage the assistance of needed advisors (such as construction managers, architects, engineers, incentives advisors, supply chain analysts, location consultants, etc.) early in the process. These professionals are able to deliver more value to your process when brought in during the conceptual phase.
• DON’T assume all desired location characteristics are “must have’s.” Prepare your team with the concept that there is no such thing as the “perfect site” and that trade-offs will be required.
• Understand which criteria has room to be less than “perfect” without compromising the operational must haves.
• DON’T let your location search be driven by incentives; they are only one of many important factors.
• DON’T assume a site will have the needed utility capacities – conduct due diligence for upfront and long term needs.
• DON’T sign a lease, hire employees for the new facility, or incur related expenses until your incentives are finalized, or you may jeopardize them. Allowable timing on this point will vary by incentive program.
• DON’T announce (internally or externally) your intention to locate in a specific community until the incentives are finalized.

For more information on the site selection process, please contact Michelle Comerford at mcomerford@blsstrategies.com.