CWS Clients

Due to the accelerated launch for one of its products, this major US-based biotech company needed to reevaluate its location strategy.  The large number of new people required for the launch could not be housed in existing space, and the high cost of living at the current location was a significant barrier to recruiting for several key positions.  Relocation of some operations, however, could put the product launch at risk due to disruption.

Our team interviewed key functional leaders to determine the staffing and space needs in key areas for both the product launch and for ongoing operations for five and ten year planning horizons.  We evaluated a range of no-movement, short-distance, and long-distance options on proximity and adjacency requirements, long-term talent and cost requirements, financial outcomes, and short-term disruption.

Over the four-month project, we identified options, developed new configurations, evaluated locations, estimated the effect on current employee populations, evaluated the one-time and ongoing financial impact and worked with corporate management to develop short- and long-term solutions.  Final planning and implementation are ongoing.

This manufacturer of outdoor sporting products wanted to reposition the company’s headquarters functions in order to provide better access to investors and other sporting goods companies.  In addition, the company wanted to increase its ability to attract and retain key research and development talent.

Our team worked discretely and confidentially with the corporate finance division to build a strategic plan and site evaluation for headquarters and R&D functions through identifying key talent and functions, describing their location needs, and identifying key investor and partner organizations in the marketplace.  We identified communities based on ability to recruit and retain key talent, access to primary retail markets, proximity to materials engineering programs, and quality of life “outdoor sports” characteristics.  We also performed a full financial evaluation of all location options, including full, partial, and phased moves.

This international manufacturer needed to expand its distribution and light assembly network in North America due to increasing market demand in the United States, coupled with increasing logistics costs.  Our team worked hand-in hand with CBRE to evaluate a series of scenarios in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Kentucky to evaluate a balance between logistics costs, labor availability and cost, real estate availability and cost, and government incentives and credits.

In addition to coordinating all in-field due diligence for both labor and incentives issues, our team also provided additional analysis on the overall costs of operations in the various scenarios, both with and absent of incentive programs.  We also provided phone based due-diligence on labor market trends in six additional US and Canadian markets.

In 2001, a major northeastern health plan began the development of a real estate plan for their customer and provider support operations.  These operations consist of approximately 2000 associates in four facilities with a total of approximately 500,000 square feet.

Our joint consultant/client team developed a plan using demographic and employee data to verify that the labor market directly proximate to the current facilities would not be able to support all functions over the long-term.  Employee and labor market mapping indicated that moving some portion of the current operations to a location approximately 30 miles away would mitigate the risk of reliance on one labor pool without a substantial risk of employee attrition due to the move.

Further, the ownership strategy eventually developed for the operations support portfolio is a more efficient use of the company’s capital, and the completed plan is projected to save the company $5 million per year when complete.

For a leading biopharmaceutical manufacturer, our team performed a global site selection study for the placement of $400 million in manufacturing facilities. The analysis included all of North America as well as selected foreign locations such as: Singapore, Puerto Rico, Ireland, England, France and Germany.

The project concentrated on locations that have begun to develop biopharmaceutical clusters.  Key issues were: the availability of trained industry professionals, R&D specialists and skilled technicians; general labor environment; wages; infrastructure; logistics; taxes; and incentives.

The company will benefit from a significant tax rebate program in its new operating location that will offset ¼ of the capital improvement cost.

A real-estate developer located in the Southwestern US commissioned a multi-consultant team to develop a marketing analysis for a 1,200 acre parcel they had recently purchased.

TranSystems identified what the current global volume and cargo flow were out of the Southwest, and by what mode – rail, truck, or ship – they utilized. Also determined was the cargo’s point of origin, and how much of this traffic could potentially travel through the area.

To augment the TranSystems analysis, our team performed an economic analysis of the region to determine its competitiveness with regard to labor rates, taxes, crime rates, well-being, and labor pool. The team identified 15 potential categories of users to target as part of a marketing push to sell the industrial park to.  In addition to the marketing study, we also assisted in securing Foreign Trade Zone treatment for a portion of the site.

Our team was retained by a large industrial development firm to examine how changes in both freight flow and user requirements might result in changing needs for real estate along the east coast.  In particular, the client was interested in determining how activity at major posts would influence the need for new warehouse developments throughout the distribution network, as well as the size and function of these facilities.

The team examined overall freight flow projections for the east coast and also spoke to officials at each of the major east coast ports to determine how these were expected to change over the next 5-10 years.  We spoke to the port operators to identify port developments and planned services from freight carriers that could further impact development.

We also spoke with state and local economic development officials to identify planned infrastructure improvements and programs that had been specifically designed to attract freight and logistics uses to the target areas.

We used the above to develop an investment strategy for the client, which ranked logistics markets throughout the east coast and which provided suggestions for specific kinds of development in selected markets.  We also provided specific intelligence on activities already underway in each market that could impact the potential success and timing in each, and suggested best practices for development.

While planning for a significant intermodal facility in the American Southeast, the client recognized the opportunity to attract development that would complement the transportation and distribution uses at the site.  Our team performed a clustering and business attraction analysis on the area to determine the likely best targets for the area and determine the area’s competitiveness in these areas.

Through this accelerated analysis, our team identified four clusters which had both an existing presence in the area and which also had business needs which could be competitively met at the new location.  We then worked with the development team to develop a plan for making the case for the site to prospects.

Christopher Steele and his team were retained in June of 2002 to work with the City of West Palm Beach and City Place Partners to identify the location’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in regards to business attraction and retention.  We worked with local economic development agencies, business, and the development community to determine:

• How West Palm Beach compares to similar locations when considered by corporate location decision makers
• Which industries and/or companies would be best suited or most interested in a West Palm Beach location
• How the West Palm Beach Community Redevelopment Agency can target and market to likely users of office space who would consider a West Palm Beach location.

Using the results of the initial study, the City of West Palm Beach will:

• Develop a prioritized list of actions that the City can take to improve the competitiveness of the area in attracting new or expanding business, and
• Construct a marketing plan to that the City will then be able to use to attract corporate relocations or expansions to downtown West Palm Beach

The Committee of One Hundred needed to critically evaluate the Tampa metropolitan area’s business attraction capability in relation to twenty-five selected communities across the United States.

As part of the Ernst & Young team, Chris Steele developed the analytics to compare how the region fared against its competitor metropolitan areas in satisfying the most essential factors affecting a company’s location decision making process.  More than one hundred individual factors were evaluated, including direct and indirect labor costs, labor availability, real estate related costs, utility reliability and costs, transportation infrastructure, state and local taxation, incentives programs, development impact fees, and quality of life factors.  These were then compared against specific industries’ known location profiles to determine ideal targets and best fits.

Our team also sent project surveys to approximately fifteen competitor locations to examine their responses to site selection inquiries for these selected industries.  In this way we were able to collect industry specific information on each community as well as collect best practices on responsiveness, data submission, and interaction with the consultant base.

The team presented recommendations to improve Tampa’s ability to compete with other metropolitan areas in attracting new business.  The project team also made key recommendations regarding short- and long-term economic development strategies, and opportunities for promoting community strengths.

We were selected by the Transportation Research Board – a member of the National Academy of Sciences – to perform a study of economic and transportation factors influencing site selection decisions for freight and intermodal facilities.  This one-year study will provide insight on location decisions for transportation facilities and suggest best practices for transportation, land use, economic development, and regional partnerships.  This research will result in a guide for public officials on: the key criteria used by the private sector when sitting logistics facilities, the complexity of the various facility types and the role they play in goods movement and supply chain management, and the potential for successful projects.