Activity

Activity objective

To select the location of your new manufacturing plant in Europe.

Instructions

As a CEO, you must decide the location of the new facility of your Mexican company in Europe, but you need to define in which country. Explain at least five factors you must consider in the process.

Determining the facility location is a business-critical strategic decision. There are several factors that establish the location of a facility such as the competition, the costs, and the corresponding associated effects.

You must consider that two manufacturing operations will never be the same. For example, the needs of a specialized R&D driven medical devices company will be different from a price-sensitive mass market consumer goods operation. Likewise, an OEM electronics component supplier whose output delivery needs to be timed right away to satisfy a major automotive manufacturing plant, will have different location requirements than a manufacturer processing raw materials sourced from a mining operation in Wyoming.

Answer these questions and later in a report, you must develop each of the determining factors:

  1. How should you determine the location of your business?
  2. What are some factors you must consider for the right location?
  3. How does the location may affect your business?
  4. What is the theory of industrial location about?
  5. Which problems may you face when considering the facility location?

Checklist