Research & Development
Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Biologics department required a new site to accommodate R&D and manufacturing.
A site of at least 75 acres to accommodate 400 jobs in a market with an existing industry ecosystem and deep talent resources.
WDGC recommended the Boston area. Despite higher labor costs, an ideal site and outstanding market resources sealed the deal.
Client secured $60M in incentives and has undergone two subsequent expansions.
Viewed as one of most successful sites in Squibb’s global footprint.
Roche’s site for its Translational Clinical Research Center in NJ was sold and relocation was necessary.
WDGC examined both local (w/in tristate area) and longer-distance options’ feasibility.
Long-distance move would incur high HR/attrition costs, so local move recommended by WDGC. Access to talent sited the project in Manhattan.
Roche followed WDGC recommendation and has been highly satisfied with location decision
Roche received $6.6M in incentives from NY to equip its new research labs.
Distribution Centers
Target had an extremely short timeline to validate the viability of the Memphis Metro for a 1,000 employee online fulfillment center.
WDGC conducted in-depth research on the roster of existing employers as well as recent corporate growth activity to gauge supply/demand balance of labor resources.
WDGC advised that for a market as competitive for distribution as Memphis, Target would have to pay at or above market wages to find success.
Target invested over $50M in their new DC in southeast Memphis, near the Mississippi state line.
ULTA required a West Coast Distribution Center for expanding E-Commerce business that would employ 1,300 at peak staffing.
WDGC was tasked with determining the viability of two San Joaquin Valley cities to support both full-time and seasonal hiring needs.
WDGC recommended Fresno due to its large underemployed labor pool and seasonal workforce.
ULTA selected Fresno and announced a $110M capital investment with hopes to be operational in 2018.
Contact Centers
ADP required the establishment of a Western U.S. B2B service center.
WDGC conducted a western location screen yielding a longlist of 8 metros. Refined search criteria delivered a shortlist of 3 areas.
WDGC recommended El Paso. At target wage levels, ADP sits at top of BPO food-chain. Notable concentration of feeder centers was a plus despite saturation.
Company staffed 1,000 in two years. Excellent staffing experience with favorable operating costs motivated ADP to add 1,000-1,500 over 5 years.
Cost savings of 24% vs. the existing location were achieved.
DS Services saved 27% on annual operating costs vs. Atlanta/L.A.
Office Operations
Marriott required a 300 FTE shared-service center with at least 10% labor savings vs. the U.S. average.
A two-phase study examined both statistical and field-discovered elements. A mix of entry and experienced talent was required to staff the center in 18 months.
An available building of 40,000 SF and surplus labor resources at targeted cost objectives led WDGC to recommend Knoxville.
Client has enjoyed success in Knoxville, and staffing now exceeds 600.
Wage levels 12% below those forecast in business plan.
CNA Insurance in need of a Western U.S. Operations Center in a location with costs below Tier One metros.
New center required 300 FTE in claims, service, and help desk. WDGC screened from 50+ western metros and performed fieldwork in three areas.
WDGC recommended Denver’s southwest submarket. Recommended location to capitalize on recession-depressed labor market.
Operation has been successful in Denver; 300 positions readily filled and operating at less than 20% turnover.
Cost savings of 17% vs. existing location benchmark.
Technology Centers
Canon IT Services required a western center for camera-user tech support.
WDGC prioritized finding a location with moderate costs for both service and technical help-desk roles.
Albuquerque was recommended for its underemployed tech base, moderate costs, and local creative industry cluster fostered by UNM.
Canon’s advanced tech support center staffed 150 positions while achieving employer-of-choice status in the marketplace.
Canon has successfully leveraged Albuquerque’s creative tech pipeline.
Barclays Capital sought new locations for 1,300 U.S. HQ operations staff, strongly-driven by IT skill needs.
This project aimed to decentralize three primary functions from Manhattan to areas where each could have growth flexibility and significant cost reduction.
WDGC recommended relocating transactions to Delaware, middle office functions to northern NJ, and IT functions to Dallas.
Barclays move-related attrition was within projected manageable levels (38%-54%).
Client now has significant geographic flexibility for future deployment.
Corporate Headquarters
CitiBank sought to consolidate 17,000+ employees across six NYC/NJ worksites into one NYC metro worksite.
WDGC conducted an in-depth commute study to find which new site had the minimum negative commute impacts for existing regional workforce.
The existing worksite at 388 Greenwich in Manhattan posed no red flags, and was eventually selected primarily for real estate considerations.
CitiBank invested over $20M to retrofit the 3 million SF space in Lower Manhattan.
Relocation attrition minimized to new NYC worksite.
Verizon decided to consolidate HQ functions (except C-suite) and middle office totaling 2,200 employees.
WDGC analyzed several relocation scenarios including greenfield option. Existing sites in NYC, Pitt, Boston and NJ offered options as well.
WDGC recommended consolidation at existing site in Central New Jersey where Verizon had room to expand.
Substantial one-time costs from HR move were easily mitigated by savings from consolidation efficiencies and geographic wage differentials.
Relocation justified on cost basis, and harmonization of consolidated functions.
Manufacturing Facilities
IBM partnered with Toshiba to produce computer chips, sought to invest $1.7B in the new facility.
WDGC undertook a national greenfield search in addition to considering two existing sites for new fabrication plant which would house 1,300 well-paying jobs.
Four greenfield sites emerged as viable, but ultimately WDGC recommended IBM co-locate at a company controlled site in Manassas, VA.
Manassas site proved to be optimal, as site’s embedded infrastructure saved 35% on capital costs and 6 month reduction in construction time.
Several expansions have taken place over past decade at the site. Dominion subsequently purchased by Micron.
Beretta sought to relocate from capped-out site and escape legislative concerns in Maryland.
WDGC conducted a multi-state location screen for optimum available metalworking skills with an acceptable state political climate.
Project located near Nashville (Gallatin); U.S. HQ and testing range will subsequently co-locate in near future.
Nashville proved to be a great fit for Beretta’s 500+ jobs and $75M in capital investment.
Phase One incentives package of $15M was icing on the cake.
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WDGC stands ready to guide you through the alignment process to ensure that the overall site selection process advances your business objectives. Our role is flexible, we can either lead the study team or provide selected expertise (e.g., labor market metrics) as a dedicated team member.