Q&A - How important is location in determining business success?

For businesses in some sectors, location really is important.  For others, it is a relatively minor decision.  The key is to consider the main issues faced by a business choosing a business location and to address the most appropriate way of making a choice.

Location decisions are often important – to both large and small businesses. The location decision has a direct effect on an operation’s costs as well as its ability to serve customers (and therefore its revenues). 
Also, location decisions, once made, are difficult and costly to undo.  The costs of moving an operation are often significant and run the risk of inconveniencing customers and staff. It is always best to get the location decision right first time.

There is no such thing as the perfect business location.  Every choice made involves having to balance the supply (cost) and demand (revenue) factors.

However, a good location is one which delivers the following benefits:

Competitive unit costs – through a combination of a productive and efficiency labour supply, acceptable location overheads and cost-effective access to inputs (raw materials, components etc)

Optimal revenue opportunities – customer service is not inconvenienced through the choice of location

An acceptable rate of return on investment – all business projects compete for scare cash resources; a business location decision is no different

Sufficient production capacity to meet demand and future flexibility in capacity management decisions

Access to a labour force which enables the business to achieve the objectives of its workforce planning

Measuring the competitiveness of a business [18 May 2012]
What do we mean by “competitiveness”? [18 May 2012]
Revision Presentation - Marketing and Competitiveness [17 May 2012]
Revision Presentation - Making Operational Decisions [17 May 2012]
Predictions of a dramatic change in the way goods are produced - and how it may change business [25 Apr 2012]
Vodafone takes over Cable and Wireless Worldwide [23 Apr 2012]
Competitiveness and organisational structure - a great example of delayering [20 Apr 2012]
Costs, Cashflow and Closure - the Last French Beret Maker [14 Apr 2012]
Strategy & Technological Change - Whatever Happened to BlackBerry? [14 Apr 2012]
Revision Presentation - Exchange Rates and Business [6 Apr 2012]
When we went on tour - Football and Competitiveness [23 Mar 2012]
Retrenchment: Short-Term Pain for Long-Term Gain? [19 Mar 2012]
Takeover troubles - Has the Co=operative got Indigestion with the Somerfield Integration? [5 Mar 2012]
How to turn threats into an opportunity at Ryanair [31 Jan 2012]
Leadership and Strategy - All Change at the Top for Blackberry [23 Jan 2012]
Revision Presentation - Cost Minimisation [3 Jan 2012]
Revision Presentation - Economies of Scale & Resource Mix [3 Jan 2012]
Revision Presentation - Business Location [2 Jan 2012]
Revision Presentation - Workforce Planning [26 Dec 2011]
Business studies lessons from Britain’s best pub [3 Nov 2011]
Revision Quiz - Marketing: Competition [1 Nov 2011]
Location Location Location [28 Oct 2011]
Lesson video - a day in the life of a supermarket [20 Oct 2011]
Greggs, Sausage Rolls and the Ansoff Matrix [20 Oct 2011]
Revision Quiz - Locating the Startup Business [12 Oct 2011]
Lesson Worksheet - Business Costs [12 Oct 2011]
Lesson activity - the Dyson Debate [29 Sep 2011]
Jaguar Land Rover Essay [20 Sep 2011]
Strategies for success on the beleaguered high street [6 Sep 2011]
Automation and the arrival of 290,000 robots [2 Aug 2011]
McDonalds - Making a Meal out of the Olympics [20 Jul 2011]
Jaguar goes for NPD investment with £5bn plan [10 May 2011]
Using Chucklevision to Teach Business [8 May 2011]
Lesson Worksheet - Capacity Utilisation [5 May 2011]
Capacity cuts at Toyota UK as production still hit after Japanese earthquake [20 Apr 2011]
CSR - The Mega Dairy, Economies of Scale and Cornflakes [25 Feb 2011]
Niche segmentation - Britain’s Last Teddy Bear Maker [23 Feb 2011]
Nokia CEO - Standing on a Burning Platform [9 Feb 2011]
Industrial Action & Customer Service Case Study - FlyLo [28 Jan 2011]
Dominos Pizza - the Recipe for Business Success [9 Jan 2011]
Q&A - What is the difference between outsourcing and offshoring? [29 Dec 2010]
Q&A - What are the main issues in operating a multi-site business? [29 Dec 2010]
Q&A - Explain what is meant by industrial inertia [29 Dec 2010]
Q&A - Explain what is meant by labour productivity and how it can be measured? [28 Dec 2010]
Britain’s changing High Street - Poundland, nail bars and empty shops [8 Dec 2010]
Cash flow Clue-doh! The Mystery is Revealed… [2 Nov 2010]
How to start a toy shop [12 Oct 2010]
Leadership skills of the new CEO drive profits at Pret [8 Oct 2010]
Would you stand for it? [14 Sep 2010]
Adding value…to the humble toilet roll [2 Sep 2010]
Recession Strategy - Manufacturing Emerges Leaner and Fitter [25 Aug 2010]
37 Ways for a Business to be More Competitive [24 Aug 2010]
A tricky customer service problem - chicken nuggetts are off [11 Aug 2010]
Retail banking through the ages - a pictoral guide [29 Jul 2010]
Customer service lessons from a taxi driver [13 Jul 2010]
Emerging Stronger - How UK Businesses Responded to the Recession [14 Jun 2010]
Customer Service - What Students Can Learn from John Lewis Partnership [12 Jun 2010]
BUSS4 Recession Strategies - The Crucial Role of the Business Model [6 Jun 2010]
Recession Strategy - For Airlines it is all about Unit Costs [2 Jun 2010]
Strategy Case Study - Vauxhall/Opel restructuring [24 May 2010]
BUSS4 Research - a Corus of Disapproval [1 Mar 2010]
Strategies for the Recession - Insights from Six Restaurant Group CEOs [19 Feb 2010]
Contingency planning failure leads to customer service disaster [12 Feb 2010]
Flexible working thrives in the recession [1 Feb 2010]
Video case study - New Balance quality in a successful UK factory [28 Jan 2010]
Revision presentation - labour productivity [17 Jan 2010]
Retrenchment and capacity cutting at Blacks Leisure - and then expansion again? [12 Jan 2010]
Mass-market holiday companies score worst for customer service - yet again! [8 Jan 2010]
Customer service in action - the shop sleepover [22 Dec 2009]
Revision Presentation - Capacity Management [19 Dec 2009]
Operations in Action - Video Tour of the Amazon Depot [23 Nov 2009]
Brompton Bicycles - Guardian Profile [9 Nov 2009]
Auto Warriors - the Capacity Management Reality Show [28 Oct 2009]
Mystery Shopping - Quality Control or Staff Snooping? [28 Oct 2009]
Q&A - How are businesses affected by unemployment? [27 Oct 2009]
Managing Cash Flow - Beware the Economic Recovery [26 Oct 2009]
Entrepreneur takes advantage of the postal strike [24 Oct 2009]
Customer Service with a Beat - its a Rap [5 Oct 2009]
The Costs of Poor Customer Service - United Airlines and the Guitar Hero [5 Oct 2009]
Police caution the CEO for insisting on better customer service [25 Sep 2009]
The Customer Bites Back via the Blogosphere [21 Sep 2009]
Strategic business decision-making - Network Rail [26 Aug 2009]
Standing room only - on Ryanair? [6 Jul 2009]
Spare capacity prompts a fall in business investment [4 Jul 2009]
U2 on Tour - Investment appraisal and capacity utilisation rolled into one! [2 Jul 2009]
Stock control - de-stocking was over £5bn in Q1 of 2009 [2 Jul 2009]
Top Class Customer Service in Action - Yorkshire Airlines [24 Jun 2009]
A six minute tour round the Dell Factory [31 May 2009]
Q&A - What is a sales forecast? [31 May 2009]
Q&A - What are the main things to consider when obtaining finance for a start-up? [26 May 2009]
Q&A - How can a business handle a loss? [26 May 2009]
Q&A - How is profit used by a business? [26 May 2009]
Customer service classic - the upside-down pizza [11 May 2009]
Swine Flu Vaccine - An Interesting Example of Batch Production in Action [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What is meant by having a “customer focus”? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What are the main benefits of good customer service? [1 May 2009]
Video case study - Wind turbine production is stalled [1 May 2009]
Small businesses in the middle of the crunch - insights for students [22 Apr 2009]
International trade in action - on board the container ship [14 Apr 2009]
Are we motoring towards electric avenue? [5 Apr 2009]

BUSINESS TEACHER RESOURCE NEWSLETTER
Get first news of business teaching resources, ideas and other materials from tutor2u. Over 9,400 business teachers from the UK and around the world receive our regular teacher email newsletters. Sign up for free here!