One of the most important factors in choosing a site for a new facility is the area’s business climate, i.e., are the governing bodies supportive of new business or do they put up roadblocks in the way of progress? Some of the factors that comprise business climate include taxes (property, income, sales, etc.), zoning and environmental regulations, development ordinances, and permitting. Even infrastructure comes into play since local governments have jurisdiction over roads. Nonetheless, companies bringing quality jobs to an area are in a good position to ask for the infrastructure they need. This may include highway connections to a new plant or the addition of a rail spur, as well as access to a local sewer system and the availability of water for manufacturing processes as well as fire protection.

The required infrastructure is necessary to connect the manufacturing operation to its supply chain, but there are even bigger fish to fry in that regard. Company financial officers are wrestling with recent trade tensions and announced tariffs that are proving disruptive to their businesses. The lack of permanency on tariffs is leading many companies to take a look at their supply chains to determine which suppliers they can renegotiate contracts with, the percentage of foreign parts in their products, and even where else they can establish operations in order to diversify their supply chains. Having access to the right kind of data can help companies to sort out these issues and make decisions positive to their bottom lines.