What Does a Site Selection Consultant Do? A Guide for Corporate Real Estate Decision-Makers

A site selection consultant advises corporations on where to locate, expand, relocate, or consolidate facilities, and supports that advice with structured analysis rather than opinion. The work covers location strategy, labor market analytics, multi-round location screening, in-field due diligence, economic incentives negotiation, and real estate assessment. WDG Consulting (Wadley Donovan Gutshaw Consulting) has been advising corporate clients on office and industrial facility location since 1975. The firm is headquartered at 991 U.S. Highway 22, Suite 200, Bridgewater, NJ 08807, with additional locations in Jacksonville, FL and Dallas, TX.

If you are a corporate real estate, operations, or HR leader weighing whether to bring in outside expertise, this guide explains what the role actually involves, how it differs from commercial brokerage, what a typical engagement looks like, and when it makes sense to engage one.

What Does a Site Selection Consultant Do?

A site selection consultant designs and manages the process a company uses to arrive at a location decision. Rather than presenting a list of available properties, the consultant defines what the company needs from a location, narrows the universe of candidate geographies through data-driven screening, validates the finalists in the field, and recommends a preferred location and a back-up.

At WDG Consulting, that scope is delivered across several connected practice areas:

•     Location Strategy — aligning geographic deployment with business strategy, marketing planning, operations and supply chain, HR strategy and workforce plans, tax and finance, and corporate real estate.
•     Labor Market Analytics — assessing HR dynamics in existing or new locations, including demographics and commute-shed workforce profiles, college graduate pipelines, labor supply, quality and cost, competitive labor demand, underemployed or “hidden” labor resources, unionization risks, and employer-of-choice positioning.
•     Location Screening — reducing the location universe to a shortlist through sequential rounds of statistical screening.
•     Location Field Evaluation — due diligence in shortlisted markets, validation of labor force trends, local HR best practices, and assessment of sites, buildings, and infrastructure.
•     Logistics — supply-chain mapping, freight cost minimization, defining the geographic search territory for new facilities, network optimization, and scenario analysis.
•     Economic Incentives — estimating and comparing expected benefits, negotiation, procurement, compliance, and tax credit sales.
•     Real Estate — assessment, negotiation, and acquisition services for manufacturing plants, distribution centers, offices, and other corporate facilities.
•     Implementation — project coordination, team additions, vendor selection, site acquisition, and communications.
•     Relocation Feasibility — defining the risks and rewards of a move in support of a go or no-go decision.

The consultant’s role is also flexible. WDGC can lead the study team outright or contribute selected expertise, such as labor market metrics, as a dedicated member of a client’s existing project team.

What Is Site Selection in Business?

Site selection in business is the structured process of choosing where to place a corporate facility so that the location supports the company’s operating and financial objectives. A real estate transition will support an optimal location strategy. Such a transaction comes at the end of the structured process.

The drivers behind a new location vary and are often multi-faceted. Common rationales include cost reduction, efficiency increases, market expansion, growth flexibility, competitive advantage, workforce availability, organizational or process transformation, and infrastructure enhancements. Because those drivers pull in different directions, they have to be clearly understood and prioritized before any geography is evaluated.

Site selection applies across facility types: corporate headquarters, R&D centers, back/middle offices, manufacturing plants, distribution and fulfillment centers, contact centers, and information technology centers. Decision criteria weighting will vary depending on the business function in question.

What Factors Are Considered in Corporate Site Selection?

Corporate site selection entails a matrix of operational and cost factors, applied in increasing detail as candidate locations are narrowed. Essentially, locations are sequentially eliminated until the best alternatives are identified. After comprehensive, due diligence evaluation of finalist areas, the ultimate location is chosen. The process begins with “location screening”.

Early round screening factors (statistical thresholds) often include population and labor force trends, talent pool depth, labor costs, proximity to customers and/or raw materials, proximity to other company operations, air/highway/rail access, and natural disaster potential. At this stage, a longlist of potentially suitable locations emerges.

Deeper screening applied to the longlist examines factors such as the roster of existing and new employers, labor market competition, prevailing market wages, unionization trends, utility costs especially electric power, availability of sites/buildings, infrastructure developments, business climate, taxation, and potential incentives.

Real estate requirements are documented separately and can include type of use, timing and method of delivery, property size and configuration, building and construction specifications, utility requirements, zoning and permitting, compatibility of nearby uses, environmental sustainability, access by road, rail, air, and port, and workforce penetration relative to labor competitors. Client preferences, existing building versus land site, ownership versus lease, business park versus standalone site, sole occupancy versus multi-tenant, are captured at the same time.

Economic incentives are part of the analysis but are deliberately kept in perspective. WDGC’s position is that business incentives should never “drive” the location decision, even though the cost offsets can be instrumental to a project’s short and long-term success. However, incentives should only become a swing factor among locations that best support operational and cost objectives.

How Do Companies Choose a Location for a New Facility?

The site selection process follows a structured, multi-phase analytical approach. WDGC’s client engagements typically embrace four phases, which are highlighted below. 

Discovery

Every project begins with discovery, which aligns the combined client and consultant project team on objectives, operating requirements, expectations, and critical path. Discovery covers team composition, controlling assumptions, the geographic search region, definition and prioritization of location criteria, confidentiality and communication protocols, and timing. The consultant prepares a baseline information request for the client to complete, then works through revisions until both sides reach consensus.

Location Screening

As noted above, multiple screening rounds embodying desktop research narrow the location universe to a longlist of viable candidates, typically six to ten. At this juncture the consultant prepares and submits a confidential request for information (RFI) to economic development agencies to obtain greater insight into current operating environments. RFI responses are combined with desktop statistical research, and a scorecard model rates the longlisted areas on operational factors and cost variables. Finalist locations (i.e., the shortlist) are then selected. The shortlist (typically two-three) is composed of locations that score highest on operational considerations and low to moderate on business costs. Frequently, an existing company location or a “location of interest” is benchmarked through the screening process.

In-Field Validation

This phase involves validating screening outcome in the shortlisted locations and surfaces market attractions or potential red flags that the data alone would not reveal. Consultants conduct face-to-face interviews with corporate managers at similar businesses, along with local staffing agencies, educational institutions, employment offices, workforce development centers, utility providers, and government officials. Sites, buildings, utility infrastructure, environmental considerations, transportation, regulatory environment, and permitting are fully assessed. Quality of place/cost of living are also taken into account.

Deliverables include a market specific HR Best Practices Guide for achieving employer-of-choice positioning, plus detailed projections for competitive market entry and mature wages, pre-qualified applicant flows, candidate selectivity, maximum headcount sizing, and expected turnover during ramp-up and mature operations. During this phase, the consultant also requests a pre-negotiated, non-binding incentives offering from the lead economic development agency. The best submarket from a labor draw and operation perspective is targeted. Real estate options (either sites and/or buildings) are shortlisted within the optimal submarket.

Selection

The consultant recommends a finalist and a back-up location and can arrange additional field visits to introduce other project team members to those markets. Team concurrence triggers final real estate and incentives negotiations. Formal incentives negotiations are typically undertaken in each finalist location, with the consultant submitting requests, critiquing responses, pushing for improved offers in writing, and securing final packages. Real estate negotiations ultimately result in final agreement on a specific site or building. The multi-year operating cost impacts of incentives and real estate are projected, typically in a 10-year NPV analysis.

During this last phase, the client team is expanded so that a final location decision is made from a holistic perspective. Team players often include finance, human resources, real estate, technology, legal, operations, supply chain, and corporate affairs.

When Should a Company Hire a Site Selection Consultant?

The clearest signal is that a location question is open and the answer will be expensive to get wrong. Specific triggers include:

•     A new or greenfield facility is on the table and no geography has been settled.
•     Relocation is under consideration. Advising companies on whether to relocate is a WDGC core specialty, delivered through a relocation feasibility analysis that defines the risks and rewards of a move in support of a go or no-go decision. A proprietary employee action model quantifies retention and separation by staff level, department, and critical personnel based on the mobility characteristics of employees eligible for relocation, with commute impacts analyzed alongside it to project attrition exposure.
•     Workforce is the binding constraint. If recruiting, retention, wage escalation, or headcount ceilings are driving the discussion, labor market analytics answer questions such as how competitive the company would be locally, how large it could grow within a metro wide labor pool, and what to expect in an unfamiliar market.
•     The portfolio needs rationalization. Expansion, contraction, mergers, or acquisitions that change the geographic footprint call for real estate portfolio or footprint optimization across global, regional, or national holdings.
•     Logistics. For location projects where proximity, delivery times, and freight costs are paramount.
•     Timing is tight. For manufacturing projects, site programming, building design and approvals, and construction can extend the timeline to 18 months or more after final real estate and incentive negotiations are complete, which is why analysis should begin as early as possible.
• Incentives are in play. Negotiating cost offsets across multiple jurisdictions, then managing applications, agreements, and multi-year compliance reporting.

Working With WDG Consulting

WDGC is a one-stop provider covering all aspects of the corporate site selection process, offered on a global platform through an integrated offshore alliance network. Every company on the firm’s client list has been advised by at least one of WDGC’s two principals. The principals and consulting practice leaders have over 200 years of combined experience in corporate site selection. Analytical work is supported by a proprietary database with uniform location data for all metros, counties, and tailored commute zones.

The firm has been advising companies on location strategy and site selection for more than four decades. Clients have spanned the industry spectrum. Every consulting engagement results in a customized location solution to support the business’ long-term success.

To speak with a WDGC principal, contact the Bridgewater, NJ headquarters at 201-310-2598 or reach out through the contact form. All inquiries are held in strict confidence.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is site selection in business?

Site selection in business is the structured process of choosing where to locate a corporate facility so that the location supports the company’s operating and financial objectives. It covers everything from defining location criteria through screening, field validation, site/building evaluation, incentives negotiation, and final recommendation.

What does a site selection consultant do day to day?

The work includes location strategy development, labor market analytics, multi-round location screening, confidential RFIs to economic development agencies, field interviews and site inspections, comparative cost analysis, economic incentives negotiation, real estate assessment, and coordination of the workstreams required to reach construction (or existing building retrofit).

How do companies choose a location for a new facility?

Through sequential screening. A broad geographic universe is narrowed to a longlist of roughly eight to ten candidates using statistical thresholds, then to a shortlist of about two to three using deeper criteria and a scorecard model. Shortlisted locations are validated in the field before a finalist and back-up are recommended.

What factors are considered in corporate site selection?

Population and labor force trends, talent pool depth, labor costs, market proximity, air/highway/rail access, natural disaster potential, cost-of-living, and quality-of-life in early rounds; then existing and new employers, labor competition, wage survey data, unionization trends, infrastructure, taxation, and incentives in later rounds. Real estate, utility, zoning, regulations/permitting, and access requirements are documented in parallel.

When should a company hire a site selection consultant?

As early as possible in the process — ideally before a geography has been chosen. Engaging early maximizes the value of the analysis, and running final real estate and incentives negotiations in multiple locations preserves leverage on both.

How is a site selection consultant different from a commercial real estate broker? 

A consultant determines which geography best supports the company’s objectives; a broker identifies available property within a defined market. WDGC maintains total objectivity and anonymity by avoiding the conflicts of interest associated with downstream project revenue such as brokerage.

Do site selection consultants negotiate economic incentives? 

Yes. WDGC estimates potential benefits during screening, obtains non-binding quotations from local and state economic development agencies, conducts formal negotiations in finalist locations, prepares applications and the formal request for incentives, facilitates government approvals, and advises on annual compliance reporting.

Which types of facilities does WDGC advise on? 

Corporate headquarters, back/middle office operations, contact centers, manufacturing plants, distribution centers, R&D centers, and technology support centers.