Real Estate Location Strategy: What Can Be Learned From Operations Management?

Finding the optimal location for real estate needed for the operations of a firm is a strategic decision that determines the firms operating environment in the long term. It is a decision that requires understanding both the impact of the location itself on the firms operations (such as costs or closeness to supplies and customer) as well as managerial consequences of the type and ownership structure of the chosen real estates. This paper provides the integral mixing of both the operations management aspects of location strategy and the real estate management issues that relate to the location decision. As such it is on the intersection of two bodies of knowledge, (Corporate) Real Estate Management and Operations Management. Clearly, an all-round manager should be exposed to the interaction of these two fields of research, in order to make the best locational real estate decision. For this purpose, the authors present an extended class outline that c ombines the relevant knowledge and decision-making methods of both field, indented for use in undergraduate, graduate or executive courses in real estate or operations management.