Location decision as an integral part of organizational strategies.

Facilities location deals with question such as where should our main operations are based? Should it be Assam, karnatake or Tamilnadu? If karnatake is most desirable, should it be in Bangalore or Mysore? Once the manufacturing plant has been erected, it is a long from committed on the capacity created, capacity not only in terms of the machinery and equipment but also in terms of arrangement and development of raw materials resources, labour, skills, market and distribution channels and the adjustment with the environment. Location of facilities for operations is thus a long term capacity decisions which involves a long term commitment about the geographically static factor that effect a business organisation. Some changes and adjustments in capacity qualitatively and quantitatively at the location are always possible, however in most of the cases, it is not easy to change the location of the operations based once it has been established. 

                     The planning for 'where' to locate the operations facility should start from what are organisations objectives,priorities goals and it's strategies required to achieved the same in the general socio economic techno business local environment currently available and expected to be available in the long term future. Unless the objectives and priorities of an organisation are clear that the general direction is clear, effective functional or composite strategies cannot be designed. And,  it is this strategy of which the location decision is a product. 

                    The various strategies fed into one another. For instance, a marketing strategy (customer profile, products, market, values, price, structures) suggest a necessary technology strategy. (Technology, process, methods, sophistication, machinery and resources). While in technology strategy require the particular marketing strategy to make the formal riable. Similarly, a strategy considering resources materials as well as manpower (quality, qual, users, availability short and long term)  will suggest suitable technological strategies. And a technological strategy would require a certain resources strategies (regional availability, procurement and development). Financial strategy feeds into all of these and the reverse is also true.  Plant or facilities location is a product of all these strategy consideration volumes, technology, resources and organisational and social cost, amounts to an operation strategy. Location facilities is therefore, an indifferent part of operation strategy of an organization.