example of plant location in business plan

How to Present Your Business’ Location & Facility

• March 21, 2024
• Business Plan , How to Write

When drafting a business plan, detailing your business’s location and facility is not merely about stating an address or describing a building. Instead it’s about showcasing how your choice of location and the specifics of your facility are important to your business’s success.

This section of your business plan goes beyond mere logistics. Indeed it communicates to potential investors, partners, and lenders the thought process behind selecting a location that enhances market visibility, customer access, and operations efficiency.

In this guide, we’ll guide you through the importance of these elements and how to incorporate them in your business plan. Let’s dive in!

Why Do We Include it in a Business Plan?

In a business plan, the section on a business’s location and facility is crucial for providing readers with essential context about where and how the company operates.

This information typically resides in the business overview section. It should includes details on location and facilities helps stakeholders understand the strategic choices behind site selection. Especially it should be clear as how these decisions support the business’s operations, market presence (visibility), and growth potential.

It conveys to investors, lenders, and partners the thoughtfulness behind location selection (highlighting access to markets, resources, and talent – see more on that below) while the description of the facility underscores the business’s capacity for production, service delivery, and scalability.

Why Location is Important

The choice of location and facility is more than just a logistical decision; it is a strategic one that can significantly influence the overall success and growth trajectory of a business.

Indeed, a prime location enhances visibility, ensuring your business is easily accessible and noticeable to your target market . This visibility is crucial for attracting foot traffic in retail, but it’s equally important for businesses in the service sector to be within reach of their client base.

Furthermore, being situated in a vibrant, thriving area can boost brand recognition and help in crafting a strong, positive public perception.

Simplify operations

Operational efficiency is yet another factor directly impacted by the choice of location. The right location minimizes logistical hurdles and can significantly reduce costs and time associated with transportation and distribution.

For businesses that rely heavily on shipping or receiving goods, being near major highways, ports, or logistics hubs can streamline operations and improve supply chain efficiency.

Access to talent

Access to talent is another critical consideration that depends heavily on location. Operating in or near urban centers or regions known for specific industries can make it easier to attract and retain skilled employees.

For example, proximity to universities, technical schools, and other educational institutions can also be beneficial, providing a steady pipeline of qualified graduates eager to join the workforce. This access to a diverse talent pool can drive innovation, enhance service delivery, and ultimately contribute to the competitive edge of a business.

Why Facility is Important

It’s very important to give details on the business’ facility especially if it is a customer-facing or a manufacturing / supply-side operations business.

For customer-facing businesses (clinics, hotels, restaurants gyms, retail stores, real estate agencies, etc.), the facility’s design, ambiance, and accessibility play a significant role in attracting and retaining customers.

For manufacturing or supply-side operations (brewery, equipment rental, courier, storage, etc.), a facility with the right technical specifications and equipment ensures quality and efficiency in production and supply chain.

Important factors to include here:

• Size and Scalability: Guide readers on choosing a facility size that not only meets current needs but also allows for future growth.
• Layout Efficiency: Discuss how the layout affects operational efficiency, employee productivity, and customer satisfaction.
• Technology and Infrastructure: Highlight the necessity of technological infrastructure and other facilities for business operations.
• Safety and Compliance: Remind readers of the importance of safety standards and compliance with regulations in facility selection.

How to Present Location and Facility in Your Business Plan

Here are 5 simple steps to present location and facility in your business plan:

• Describe the Location: Provide detailed information about the business location, including the address, the geographical area, and why this location is strategic.
• Outline the Facilities: Describe the physical premises of the business. Include details about the size, layout, capacity, and any unique features of the facility.
• Justify the Choices: Explain why the chosen location and facility are optimal for the business objectives. Include data or research that supports these choices.
• Visual Elements: Encourage the use of photographs, maps, and floor plans to give readers a visual understanding of the location and facility.
• Future Plans: Discuss any future plans for expansion or relocation, if applicable, and how this fits into the business’s growth strategy.

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Module 12: Managing Processes

Facility location and layout, learning outcomes.

• Explain facility location
• Explain facility layout

Facility Location

Of all the pieces of the planning puzzle, facility location is the most strategic and critical. Once you build a new manufacturing facility, you have made a substantial investment of time, resources, and capital that can’t be changed for a long time. Selecting the wrong location can be disastrous. Some of the key factors that influence facility location are the following:

• Proximity to customers, suppliers, and skilled labor
• Environmental regulations
• Financial incentives offered by state and local development authorities
• Quality-of-life considerations
• Potential for future expansion

The next step, after planning the production process, is deciding on plant layout—how equipment, machinery, and people will be arranged to make the production process as efficient as possible.

Practice Question

Facility layout.

After the site location decision has been made, the next focus in production planning is the facility’s layout. The goal is to determine the most efficient and effective design for the particular production process. A manufacturer might opt for a U-shaped production line, for example, rather than a long, straight one, to allow products and workers to move more quickly from one area to another.

Service organizations must also consider layout, but they are more concerned with how it affects customer behavior. It may be more convenient for a hospital to place its freight elevators in the center of the building, for example, but doing so may block the flow of patients, visitors, and medical personnel between floors and departments.

There are four main types of facility layouts: process, product, fixed-position, and cellular.

The process layout arranges workflow around the production process. All workers performing similar tasks are grouped together. Products pass from one workstation to another (but not necessarily to every workstation). For example, all grinding would be done in one area, all assembling in another, and all inspection in yet another. The process layout is best for firms that produce small numbers of a wide variety of products, typically using general-purpose machines that can be changed rapidly to new operations for different product designs. For example, a manufacturer of custom machinery would use a process layout.

Figure 1. An Example of a Process Facility Layout. Source: Adapted from Operations Management, 9th edition, by Gaither/Frazier.

Products that require a continuous or repetitive production process use the product (or assembly-line ) layout . When large quantities of a product must be processed on an ongoing basis, the workstations or departments are arranged in a line with products moving along the line. Automobile and appliance manufacturers, as well as food-processing plants, usually use a product layout. Service companies may also use a product layout for routine processing operations.

Figure 2. An Example of a Product Facility Layout. Source: Adapted from Operations Management, 9th edition, by Gaither/Frazier.

In the following video, Jansen, a Swiss steel maker, describes how the company’s offices were designed to maximize the productivity and creativity of its engineers:

You can view the transcript for “Office Space – Jansen” (opens in new window)  or  text alternative for “Office Space – Jansen” (opens in new window ).

Some products cannot be put on an assembly line or moved about in a plant. A fixed-position layout lets the product stay in one place while workers and machinery move to it as needed. Products that are impossible to move—ships, airplanes, and construction projects—are typically produced using a fixed-position layout. Limited space at the project site often means that parts of the product must be assembled at other sites, transported to the fixed site, and then assembled. The fixed-position layout is also common for on-site services such as housecleaning services, pest control, and landscaping.

Figure 3. An Example of a Fixed-Position Facility Layout. Source: Adapted from Operations Management, 9th edition, by Gaither/Frazier.

To see an excellent example of fixed-position layout, watch the following video that shows how Boeing builds an airplane. (Note that this video has no narration; only instrumental music. Access audio description by using the widget below the video.)

Access the text alternative for “Making of a Boeing Airplane” (opens in new window).

Cellular layouts combine some aspects of both product and fixed-position layouts. Work cells are small, self-contained production units that include several machines and workers arranged in a compact, sequential order. Each work cell performs all or most of the tasks necessary to complete a manufacturing order. There are usually five to 10 workers in a cell, and they are trained to be able to do any of the steps in the production process. The goal is to create a team environment wherein team members are involved in production from beginning to end.

• Facility Location. Authored by : Linda Williams and Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Facility Location and Layout. Authored by : Linda Williams and Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Practice Questions. Authored by : Robert Danielson. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• rover 200 framing line. Authored by : spencer cooper. Located at : https://www.flickr.com/photos/spenceyc/7481166880/ . License : CC BY-ND: Attribution-NoDerivatives
• Office Space: Jansen. Provided by : BBC. Located at : https://youtu.be/aT-eZXDLQl0 . License : CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
• Facility Layout. Provided by : OpenStax CNX. Located at : http://cnx.org/contents/[email protected] . License : CC BY: Attribution . License Terms : Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/[email protected]
• Modification of Image: Process Facility Layout. Authored by : OpenStax CNX; Modification by Lumen Learning. Located at : http://cnx.org/contents/[email protected] . License : CC BY: Attribution
• Making of a Boeing air plane. Authored by : Dial647. Located at : https://youtu.be/-ovNi1cB7a4 . License : All Rights Reserved . License Terms : Standard YouTube License

What is Plant Location? Factors, Analysis, Significance, Selection Criteria

• Post last modified: 3 September 2023
• Reading time: 16 mins read
• Post category: Production Management

What is Plant Location?

Plant location refers to the process of selecting a suitable site or place for establishing a manufacturing facility or industrial plant. It is a critical decision for businesses, as the location of a plant can significantly impact the company’s overall success and competitiveness. Plant location considerations are important across various industries, including manufacturing, agriculture, energy generation, and more.

Table of Content

• 1 What is Plant Location?
• 2.1 Availability of Raw Materials
• 2.2 Proximity to Market
• 2.3 Transportation
• 2.4 Availability of Labour
• 2.5 Availability of Power, Fuel or Gas
• 2.6 Supply of Water
• 2.7 Climatic Conditions
• 3 Location Analysis
• 4 Significance of Plant Location
• 5.1 Materials
• 5.2 Machinery
• 5.4 Safety and Security
• 5.5 Future Operations

Entrepreneurs face a major problem with plant location in deciding the best location for their factory or plant. The utmost care must be exercised in selecting the plant location and many different factors must be taken into account. Primarily, the plant must be located where the minimum cost of production and distribution can be obtained but, other factors such as room for expansion and safe living conditions for plant operation as well as the surrounding community are also important. The location of the plant can also have a crucial effect on the profitability of a project.

For example, Consumer industries like televisions, washing machines and other luxury goods are set up near the marketing centers, while producer industries like steel mills are located near the vicinity of raw materials. Plant location is the choice of region and the site selection to set up a business or a factory.

The choice is primarily made after considering all the benefits and costs of various alternative areas. Moreover, it is a strategic plan which cannot be changed after deciding. The location chosen should be selected according to the specific circumstances and requirements. Each entrepreneur has an individual plant and makes an optimum attempt.

Factors Influencing Plant Location

There are several factors that influence plant location. Moreover, moving forward by resolving all other problems and considering these factors leads to success in business. The major factors affecting the plant location are listed as follows:

Availability of Raw Materials

Proximity to market, transportation, availability of labour, availability of power, fuel or gas, supply of water, climatic conditions.

The source of raw materials is one of the most important factors influencing the selection of a plant location. Attention should be given to the purchased price of raw materials, distance from the source of supply, freight and transportation expenses, availability and reliability of supply, purity of raw materials and storage requirements.

The location of markets or intermediate distribution centers affect the cost of product distribution and time required for shipping. Proximity to major markets is important consideration in the selection of the plant location because the buyer usually finds advantageous to purchase from near-by sources.

The transportation of materials and products to and from plant will be an overriding consideration in the selection of plant location. If practicable, a site that it is close to at least two major forms of transport: road, rail, waterway or a seaport, should be selected. Road transport is being increasingly used, and is suitable for local distribution from a central warehouse.

Rail transport will be cheaper for long-distance transport. If possible, the plant location should have access to all three types of transportation. There is usually a need for convenient rail and air transportation facilities between the plant and the main company headquarters, and the effective transportation facilities for the plant personnel are necessary.

Labour will be needed for the construction of plant and its operation. Skilled construction workers will usually be brought in from outside the site, but there should be an adequate pool of unskilled labours available locally; and labour suitable for training to operate the plant. Skilled tradesmen will be needed for plant maintenance. Local trade union customs and restrictive practices will have to be considered when assessing the availability and suitability of labour for recruitment and training.

It is important for an organisation to ensure the continuous supply of power, fuel and gas before selecting a plant location. For example, the location of thermal power plants and steel plants near coal fields is crucial for reducing cost of the fuel transportation.

Water is important for survival. It is required for processing in industries like chemical, sugar and paper industries. Also, water is used for drinking and sanitary purposes. It is important for an organisation to investigate a quality and probable source of supply. In addition, the chemical properties like hardness, alkalinity and acidity level of water should be checked. Apart from that, a thorough study should be conducted related to the disposal of water like effluents, solids, chemicals and other waste products.

The climate of a region where the plant is to be located has great impact on both capital and operational costs. Various aspects related to climatic conditions to be considered by an organisation include the level of snow fall or rain fall in the region, humidity, velocity of wind, frequency of natural calamities and so on.

In most plant locations, the target is to reduce cost. Some items of cost, like freight, could also be higher for one city and lower for the other city, but power costs, for instance, may have the reverse pattern. A little labour supply may cause labour rates to be bid up beyond rates measured during a location survey.

The sort of labour available may indicate future training expenditures. Thus, although a comparative analysis of varied locations may point toward one community, an appraisal of intangible factors could also be the idea of the choice to pick another. The example of a managerial decision with multiple criteria, where trade-offs must be made between the varied values and criteria.

Location Analysis

Every organisation attempts to find an ideal or optimum location. An optimum location is a place where the product cost is less with a huge market share and less risk. To find such location, an organisation needs to perform vast analysis. Business location analysis is a reliable process where an organisation weighs down the pros and cons of each alternative site.

Location analysis is based on the following aspects:

• Demographic analysis
• Competitive analysis
• Site economics
• Trade area analysis
• Traffic analysis

The following are the objectives of location analysis:

• To make sure the smooth running of the business
• To hold minimum investment and operational cost
• To co-ordinate with government policies
• To promote employee welfare

Significance of Plant Location

Strategic significance of plant location is connected with capacity decisions. Plant location involves commitment towards resources to a long-range plan. The criterion for the selection of location should be profit maximisation and cost minimisation. If the costs of products are uniform altogether, then the criterion becomes one among minimising relevant costs. Plant location is generally a stable decision that cannot be changed frequently and requires a lot of cost and efforts.

Any wrong decision can bring huge losses for the organisation. Therefore, it is important for an organisation to consider all the factors that impact the plant location before making the selection. If all processes and costs are independent of location, choices are going to be guided by proximity to potential customers or clients or similar and competing organisations and centres of economic activity generally.

Plant Location Selection Criteria

Most new investments in land, machines, buildings and expertise are made for the long run. This is furthermore important in terms of manufacturing plants. Being the global business environment, the company requires a location that every single day it holds a major role in the new production plant. Organisations can have several reasons to start the location selection process for their new manufacturing plant, cost reduction, the capacity expansion for business growth, new market entries, the pools of labour coping with geopolitical developments.

The factors that play a crucial role in plant location selection are as follows:

Safety and Security

Future operations.

• The layout of the productive equipment will depend on the characteristics of the product to be managed at the facility, as well as different parts and materials to work on.
• Main factors to be considered: size, shape, volume, weight and the physical-chemical characteristics, since they influence the manufacturing methods and storage and material handling processes.
• The sequence and order of operations will affect plant layout as well, taking into account the variety and quantity to produce.
• Having information about the processes, machinery, tools and necessary equipment, as well as their use and requirements is essential to design a correct layout.
• The methods and time studies to improve the processes are closely linked to the plant layout.
• Regarding machinery, we have to consider the type, total availability for each type, as well as quantity of tools and equipment.
• Labour has to be organised in the production process (direct labour, supervision etc.)
• Environment considerations: employees’ safety, light conditions, ventilation, temperature, noise, etc.
• Process considerations: personnel qualifications, flexibility, number of workers required at a given time as well as the type of work to be performed by them.
• Safety always be a consideration in the design or layout of the facility.
• A company can design the most efficient production layout but if it places employees at risk or places the product at risk from the layout, it cannot be implemented.
• Providing a quality product with the least amount of movement and material handling is important, but the most important asset that any company has is its employees. If the safety of those employees is jeopardised, the layout should not imperil employee’s safety.
• Every plan should include a consideration for the future of operations. Whether it is a manufacturing facility that needs to consider future products or variations of the same product or a distribution centre that needs to consider future storage requirements and product configurations, as well as the ability to expand capacity in the future.
• It is important to forecast future changes to avoid having an inefficient plant layout in a short term.
• Flexibility can be reached keeping the original layout as free as possible regarding fixed characteristics, allowing the adjustment to emergencies and variations of the normal process activities.
• Possible future extensions of the facility must be taken into account, as well as the feasibility of production during re-layout.

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How To Write the Operations Plan Section of the Business Plan

Susan Ward wrote about small businesses for The Balance for 18 years. She has run an IT consulting firm and designed and presented courses on how to promote small businesses.

Stage of Development Section

Production process section, the bottom line, frequently asked questions (faqs).

The operations plan is the section of your business plan that gives an overview of your workflow, supply chains, and similar aspects of your business. Any key details of how your business physically produces goods or services will be included in this section.

You need an operations plan to help others understand how you'll deliver on your promise to turn a profit. Keep reading to learn what to include in your operations plan.

Key Takeaways

• The operations plan section should include general operational details that help investors understand the physical details of your vision.
• Details in the operations plan include information about any physical plants, equipment, assets, and more.
• The operations plan can also serve as a checklist for startups; it includes a list of everything that must be done to start turning a profit.

In your business plan , the operations plan section describes the physical necessities of your business's operation, such as your physical location, facilities, and equipment. Depending on what kind of business you'll be operating, it may also include information about inventory requirements, suppliers, and a description of the manufacturing process.

Keeping focused on the bottom line will help you organize this part of the business plan.

Think of the operating plan as an outline of the capital and expense requirements your business will need to operate from day to day.

You need to do two things for the reader of your business plan in the operations section: show what you've done so far to get your business off the ground and demonstrate that you understand the manufacturing or delivery process of producing your product or service.

When you're writing this section of the operations plan, start by explaining what you've done to date to get the business operational, then follow up with an explanation of what still needs to be done. The following should be included:

Production Workflow

A high-level, step-by-step description of how your product or service will be made, identifying the problems that may occur in the production process. Follow this with a subsection titled "Risks," which outlines the potential problems that may interfere with the production process and what you're going to do to negate these risks. If any part of the production process can expose employees to hazards, describe how employees will be trained in dealing with safety issues. If hazardous materials will be used, describe how these will be safely stored, handled, and disposed.

Industry Association Memberships

Show your awareness of your industry's local, regional, or national standards and regulations by telling which industry organizations you are already a member of and which ones you plan to join. This is also an opportunity to outline what steps you've taken to comply with the laws and regulations that apply to your industry. 

Supply Chains

An explanation of who your suppliers are and their prices, terms, and conditions. Describe what alternative arrangements you have made or will make if these suppliers let you down.

Quality Control

An explanation of the quality control measures that you've set up or are going to establish. For example, if you intend to pursue some form of quality control certification such as ISO 9000, describe how you will accomplish this.

While you can think of the stage of the development part of the operations plan as an overview, the production process section lays out the details of your business's day-to-day operations. Remember, your goal for writing this business plan section is to demonstrate your understanding of your product or service's manufacturing or delivery process.

When writing this section, you can use the headings below as subheadings and then provide the details in paragraph format. Leave out any topic that does not apply to your particular business.

Do an outline of your business's day-to-day operations, including your hours of operation and the days the business will be open. If the business is seasonal, be sure to say so.

The Physical Plant

Describe the type, site, and location of premises for your business. If applicable, include drawings of the building, copies of lease agreements, and recent real estate appraisals. You need to show how much the land or buildings required for your business operations are worth and tell why they're important to your proposed business.

The same goes for equipment. Besides describing the equipment necessary and how much of it you need, you also need to include its worth and cost and explain any financing arrangements.

Make a list of your assets , such as land, buildings, inventory, furniture, equipment, and vehicles. Include legal descriptions and the worth of each asset.

Special Requirements

If your business has any special requirements, such as water or power needs, ventilation, drainage, etc., provide the details in your operating plan, as well as what you've done to secure the necessary permissions.

State where you're going to get the materials you need to produce your product or service and explain what terms you've negotiated with suppliers.

Explain how long it takes to produce a unit and when you'll be able to start producing your product or service. Include factors that may affect the time frame of production and describe how you'll deal with potential challenges such as rush orders.

Explain how you'll keep  track of inventory .

Feasibility

Describe any product testing, price testing, or prototype testing that you've done on your product or service.

Give details of product cost estimates.

Once you've worked through this business plan section, you'll not only have a detailed operations plan to show your readers, but you'll also have a convenient list of what needs to be done next to make your business a reality. Writing this document gives you a chance to crystalize your business ideas into a clear checklist that you can reference. As you check items off the list, use it to explain your vision to investors, partners, and others within your organization.

What is an operations plan?

An operations plan is one section of a company's business plan. This section conveys the physical requirements for your business's operations, including supply chains, workflow , and quality control processes.

What is the main difference between the operations plan and the financial plan?

The operations plan and financial plan tackle similar issues, in that they seek to explain how the business will turn a profit. The operations plan approaches this issue from a physical perspective, such as property, routes, and locations. The financial plan explains how revenue and expenses will ultimately lead to the business's success.

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Business Location Analysis: The Key to Strategic Decision Making

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Table Of Content

Location, location, location! It's a mantra we've all heard before, but how many of us truly understand its significance in the business world? This isn't just about picking any spot on the map. It's about making strategic choices that propel your business towards remarkable growth and success. Let's delve into the crucial factors to consider during business location analysis.

What is business location analysis?

Business location analysis is the process of studying and evaluating potential physical locations for business operations. It's the cornerstone of strategic planning, with a powerful influence on a company's performance, profitability, and overall success. The significance of choosing the right location cannot be overstated—it provides easy access to customers, employees, and suppliers, and can greatly enhance your brand's visibility.

Choosing the right business location is a crucial step in your company's journey. It's more than just a place—it's the setting for your story and the stage for your success.

Why do businesses use location analysis?

Location analysis pops up as a champion in the realm of business operations, offering a strategic edge to businesses across the globe. It's more than just pinning a spot on the map – it's about designing a roadmap to successful business outcomes. It's the silent hero behind boosting your business' competitive edge, accessibility, and brand visibility.

1. Competitive Edge: Become the Market Leader

Location analysis aids in identifying the best locales to set foot in, where competition is minimal and opportunities are abundant. This is where the magic of strategic positioning comes into play.

By understanding the competition landscape, businesses can strategically place themselves in a position that sets them apart, helping them get ahead in the race.

2. Customer Accessibility: Be Where Your Customers Are

Location analysis also plays a vital role in making businesses more accessible to customers. It’s not about being in the most popular spot, but being in the right spot where customers can easily find and reach you.

• Convenience: A location that's easy for customers to reach can significantly boost your business.
• Visibility: Being in a spot where you’re easily seen can naturally attract more customers.

3. Brand Visibility: Shine Above the Rest

Brand visibility is about more than just being seen – it’s about being remembered. Location analysis helps position your business in an area that not only garners high foot traffic, but also aligns with your brand identity.

Whether it's a bustling city center or a serene suburb, the right location can amplify your brand’s presence, ensuring you're not just seen, but also remembered.

4. Optimizing Operational Efficiency

Location analysis optimizes business efficiency. A strategic location enhances logistics, influencing factors such as supply chain efficiency , distribution convenience, delivery speed, and employee commute. The right location streamlines operations, saving time and resources.

Beyond operations, an ideal location grants access to crucial business services like banking, legal, and marketing consultancy. It facilitates not just survival, but also growth.

Because when we think location, we think efficiency. And in business, efficiency isn't just a buzzword - it's a lifeline. So, are you ready to optimize?

Components of Effective Business Location Analysis:

Data Collection:

Any savvy entrepreneur knows that location is key. But how do you determine the right location for your business? It starts with data collection. You'll need to gather and analyze a variety of data types to make an informed decision. Let's break it down:

• Demographic Data: This is the first type of information you need. Who are your customers? What are their ages, income levels, and occupations? You'll want a location surrounded by your target demographic.
• Traffic Data: How many people walk or drive by the potential location each day? More foot traffic could lead to more customers. But remember, that traffic needs to align with your target demographic.
• Competition Data: What other businesses are in the area? Other businesses could be complementary, boosting your sales. Or they could be competitors, potentially taking away customers.

Remember, data should guide your decision, but it shouldn't make it. Use the data to inform your choices and align them with your business goals.

It's a tricky balance, but armed with the right data, you can make a choice that sets your business up for success.

2. Spatial Analysis & Visualization:

Gas Station Density in Saudi Arabia's Key Regions

When it comes to running a successful business, location is key. That's where Spatial Analysis and Visualization come into play, taking us on a deep dive into the world of Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

GIS serves as a powerful tool in the analysis and interpretation of geographic relationships, patterns, and trends. It integrates hardware, software, and data to capture, store, analyze, and interpret all forms of geographically referenced information. Essentially, it allows us to view and understand data in ways that reveal relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts.

"A Geographic Information System (GIS) helps businesses to visualize, question, analyze, and interpret data to understand relationships, patterns, and trends."

• Mapping: GIS converts complex data into a visual format, simplifying the process of decision making. It can display demographic data, consumer behavior, and competitor locations in an easy-to-understand map.
• Analysis: GIS analyzes the data to identify patterns and trends. It provides insights into the best locations for business expansion or the areas that are most profitable.

Incorporating GIS into your business location analysis allows you to make informed decisions based on concrete data. It's like turning on a light in a dark room, illuminating opportunities and potential challenges that were previously hidden.

Benefits of Using GISExamplesEnhanced Decision MakingChoosing the best location for a new store or officeImproved CommunicationVisualizing potential business growth areas for stakeholdersIncreased EfficiencyRouting deliveries to reduce fuel consumption and save time

As we dive deeper into the realm of location analysis, it's crucial to recognize the role of Geographic Information System (GIS). In today's tech-savvy world, GIS tools are transforming the way businesses analyze their location choices. These powerful tools offer a range of benefits, all contributing to a more informed and smart decision making.

3. Predictive Analytics:

Imagine having a crystal ball that foretells how your business would fare in different locations before you even set foot there. That's precisely what predictive analytics offers! This remarkable blend of technology and statistical methods can help you anticipate potential performance in various locations based on historical data, customer behavior, market trends, and more.

How does it work?

• Predictive models gather data: First, these tools collect a wealth of valuable data from various sources, such as customer databases, demographic information, and market research.
• They analyze the data: Next, they use advanced algorithms to analyze this data, identifying patterns and trends that could impact business performance.
• They forecast future outcomes: Based on these patterns, the models can then make predictions about how a business might perform in different locations.

Businesses can use these forecasts to guide their location-based decisions, helping them choose spots with the highest potential for success. But remember, while predictive analytics can be an incredibly valuable tool, it's not infallible. It's always important to consider other factors, such as your business goals, target audience , and competition, to make the most informed decision possible.

Ultimately, predictive analytics is like a compass guiding your business through the complex landscape of location-based decision-making. It helps you avoid the pitfalls of choosing a location based on gut feelings alone and increases your chances of setting up shop in the most favorable locations.

Real-world Applications and Success Stories:

Let's look at some real-world applications and success stories that exemplify the power of strategic business location analysis.

Case Study 1: Starbucks

Starbucks, a global coffee juggernaut, is renowned for its strategic location choices. The company uses a sophisticated location analysis system, incorporating data like traffic flow, area demographics, and nearby businesses. This strategy has been key in their worldwide growth and success. source

Case Study 2: Walmart

Walmart, a multinational retail corporation, stands as a testament to the effectiveness of location analysis. The company focuses on establishing its stores in small towns, where competition is minimal. This strategy, combined with its vast product range and competitive pricing, has led to Walmart's dominance in the retail market. source

Case Study 3: McDonald's

McDonald's, a global fast-food chain, attributes much of its success to location analysis. The company strategically places its restaurants near highway exits, busy city centers, and suburbs. This approach, paired with their quick service and popular menu, has solidified McDonald's status as a fast-food leader. source

In conclusion, these case studies highlight the immense power of location analysis in business strategy. It demonstrates how, with careful consideration and smart decision-making, businesses can leverage location to maximize brand visibility, profitability, and growth.

Challenges in Business Location Analysis:

Choosing a business location is akin to playing a high-stakes game of chess. One wrong move can spell disaster for your venture. Yet, while choosing the right location can be daunting, understanding common pitfalls can ease the process.

• Common Pitfalls and Misconceptions: Many entrepreneurs fall prey to the misconception that a cheap location means higher profits. It's crucial to understand that a location's value is not solely determined by its cost, but also by its accessibility, demographic alignment, and potential for growth. Weigh these factors before making a decision.
• Overcoming Data Inaccuracies: Quality data is the bedrock of informed decision-making. Ensure the data you base your choice on is accurate, up-to-date, and relevant. Misinterpreted or outdated data can lead to costly mistakes.
• The Evolving Nature of Neighborhoods and Local Markets: Neighborhoods and markets are fluid, continually changing and evolving. A location that seems perfect today might not be the same in a few years. Always consider long-term projections and future growth trends in your analysis.

Remember: You're not just choosing a location, you're choosing a future. Make sure it's one where your business can thrive.

How xMap Can Empower Your Location Analysis?

Unlock the potential of your business with xMap , a cutting-edge platform that transforms location analysis. With a plethora of features at your disposal, xMap empowers you to make strategic, data-backed decisions about your business location. Here's how:

• Data Visualization:

xMap's intuitive interface presents data in a visually appealing and easy-to-understand format. This enables businesses to analyze complex data sets effectively and make informed location decisions.

• Comprehensive Database:

database of all the restaurants in dubai with their key information

With xMap, gain access to a vast database of demographic, geographic, and economic data that can be crucial in selecting the perfect location for your business.

• Advanced Analytics:

Use the power of xMap's advanced analytics to uncover hidden patterns, trends, and insights that can significantly impact your location strategy.

With xMap, the power to choose the right location for your business is literally at your fingertips. The platform's unique combination of data richness and user-friendly design makes it an invaluable tool for businesses of all sizes.

Now, let's talk benefits. The advantages of incorporating xMap into your business strategy are manifold:

• Increased Profitability: By providing you with actionable insights based on data, xMap aids in selecting locations that promise maximum profitability.
• Improved Decision Making: xMap's data visualization and advanced analytics facilitate better, quicker decision-making, saving valuable time and resources.
• Competitive Edge: With access to comprehensive data and analytics, you can stay ahead of the competition and identify untapped market opportunities.

Ready to take your business to new heights? Don't wait any longer to harness the power of location analytics with xMap. Whether you're a small startup or a well-established corporation, xMap has got you covered. Explore xMap today or get in touch for a personalized demo.

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How to Choose the Right Business Location 10 Factors You Should Know

Free Business Startup Checklist

Ayush Jalan

• December 12, 2023

Choosing a business location is one of the key decisions you’ll have to make as an entrepreneur. Doing so shouldn’t be based on a personal whim, but rather on a detailed understanding of your needs and limits. To do this, you need to understand how you can choose the right location.

In this article, we’ll see how to pick the right location for your business, and the factors that influence your decision.

Why is it important to choose the right business location?

You’ll need to make a strategic decision regarding the state, city, and neighborhood where your business will be located in order to select the right taxes, zoning laws, and regulations. It also affects the factors that influence your operations, profitability, scalability, expenses, etc.

A well-planned location can help you increase your market share , reduce labor and raw material costs, minimize risk, and take advantage of local laws and policies.

“The precept that location is key to the success of a business applies to art, and even to life itself: we thrive or wither depending on how nourishing our environment is.” – Yann Martel

How to pick the right location for your business

Picking the right business location depends greatly on what you want that location to do for you.

Asking the following question can be a great start to conducting your location analysis:

• What is the size of your future shop or office?
• What are your infrastructure requirements? Are you looking for a place to set up shop or to build your own office?
• What’s your budget to set up the new location?
• Do you need to be closer to a particular supplier for raw materials?

Depending on your business, your requirements will vary. Once you’ve identified your company needs, look at the factors that affect your business location to get a better idea of your options.

Factors influencing business location

Several factors determine how your business functions and sustains itself. These are some of them you should consider before picking your business location:

1. Proximity to target customers

In most cases, it pays to be in a location where there’s a high demand for your product. However, depending on your business type, you can decide whether you need to be near your target customers.

For instance, if you’re planning to start a restaurant , it might be more profitable to be in an urban locality where people eat out frequently. Conversely, if you plan on starting a manufacturing business , being close to your target customers might not be a priority.

Regardless of your business type, your proximity to your customers becomes more significant if:

• Your product life cycle is short
• Your transportation cost is high
• Your products are fragile
• Your products require after-sales services

2. Competitors’ location

Picking a location closer to a competitor can impact your business in many ways. Done wisely, it can even turn out to be a good strategy.

If your products have a competitive advantage , setting up a shop near your competitors can work in your favor. Not only can you capture their market share, but also provide your customers with a sense of choice.

Here are the benefits of setting up your business near a competitor:

• Healthy competition will fuel innovation.
• You can leverage your competitors’ marketing strategies for your benefit. Since they have already pulled in customers to the area, you don’t have to spend a lot on advertising yourself.
• Being close to your competitors allows you to strategize better and understand what works and what doesn’t in the market.
• If you happen to build a good relationship with your competitor, you can even collaborate with them.

If you’re afraid that your competitors’ offerings may outperform yours, you may choose other locations that will place you in the center of the market.

3. Talent acquisition

It’s not just customers and suppliers you need to worry about when picking a location; you also need to consider your recruitment needs.

If you plan to build a team, you need to check the following:

• Are there enough talented workers in the area you can hire?
• Does the location have good transportation and other facilities?
• Will the location help boost your staff’s productivity?
• How far is the location from the nearest residential area?
• Will you be reimbursing your staff’s travel expenses?

4. Operating and other costs

The location of your business will greatly influence the expenses you will have to incur.

Some of those expenses to look out for are:

• Transportation of raw materials
• Product delivery
• Inventory costs
• Parking fees
• Labor costs
• Electricity costs
• Water costs

There are a variety of taxes you would have to pay once you’ve set up your business. These vary depending on state and location. Moreover, some areas favor particular industries, creating favorable tax conditions. So, it’s essential to consider the same before deciding on the location of your business.

A few of the commonly levied taxes on businesses are:

• Property tax
• Corporate tax

6. Government incentives

Most young entrepreneurs are constantly on the lookout for funding and support. The good news is that some local and state governments do offer help. This can be in the form of financial incentives, business grants , low-interest loans, tax relaxations, and other benefits.

Make sure to research these before you lock your decision.

Some websites where you can find relevant info are:

• U.S. Chamber of Commerce
• U.S. Small Business Administration
• USA Government

7. Government laws and policies

Converse to the last point, there could be several government laws and policies that may restrict or negatively impact your business activities. Make sure to consider these before finalizing your business location.

Some of the aspects you should look into are:

• Licenses and permits
• Labor and employment laws
• Trade barriers
• Building codes
• Environmental regulations
• Advertising regulations

8. Local zoning ordinances

Local authorities have fixed rules and regulations regarding land usage—these laws are called zoning ordinances. Check if your plans of using and modifying the property comply with local laws to avoid running into problems later down the line.

Some locations have laws that deny permits for specific industries or restrict certain business activities. So, verify with the local municipal corporations or similar authorities to ensure you’re allowed to do business in that location.

9. Local community

While opening your business, it’s crucial to consider the impact of the local community on your business.

Asking the below questions might help you to choose the right business location:

• Is the community welcoming of small businesses?
• Does your business benefit the community in any way?
• Are the local values compatible with your company’s values?
• Will you be able to foster long-term relationships with the community ?

10. Safety and security

Feeling safe and conducting your business without any disturbances is critical.

Inquire about the following while looking for a location:

• Is the crime rate in the area high?
• How well is the policing system enforced?
• Is there a danger of theft or burglary? Will your inventory be secure?
• Is it a safe place for you and your employees?
• Will you need to upgrade the property to safeguard your business?

Choose the right location for your business

Going through a myriad of business location ideas can often cause decision fatigue due to the irreversibility of the action. However, you can increase your chances of success by evaluating your options via extensive research.

Examine the above factors to analyze your compatibility with your desired location and identify potential fits to check if it’s viable. Make sure to take your time to avoid making the wrong investment. You can even consider hiring an advisor to choose the right business location.

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About the Author

Ayush is a writer with an academic background in business and marketing. Being a tech-enthusiast, he likes to keep a sharp eye on the latest tech gadgets and innovations. When he's not working, you can find him writing poetry, gaming, playing the ukulele, catching up with friends, and indulging in creative philosophies.

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Business Location Analysis Example – Site Selection in Business Plan

Proper site selection for your business influences whether you succeed or fail in making money. Your business location analysis should take into account demographics, psychographics, census and other data. Whether you’re trying to decide where to open a new store or where to locate a second office, follow this business plan location analysis example to maximize your chances of success in site selection.

Table of Contents

Location Analysis Definition

Location analysis definition : using data to figure out where to locate your business.

Determining where to put your store, office or even online presence requires careful thought. If you get this wrong, you could be trapped with a commercial lease that costs you a lot of money but doesn’t result in getting new customers.

Business Plan Location Analysis

There is a saying that the three most important considerations in business are location, location, location. If you’re starting a new business that operates primarily offline, location is critical. You want to be near your customers.

But is it critical for online businesses, too? Yes, in a different way. Online location is akin to having the right domain name, online advertising, and search engine optimization so that prospects can find your business.

In two slightly different ways, location is still an important part of doing business. A business plan has two purposes and will serve one or both: 1) raise additional capital and 2) outline in detail how you can succeed in your business (like a user’s manual).

Essentially, you want to answer two questions:

• How can I succeed here?

You will need to answer both of these questions for your site selection analysis.

Site Selection

Answering “why here,” for a brick and mortar location, will address the physical address (or addresses) where your business will take place.

For an online business, “why here” will address your website’s domain, web hosting service, and presence in search results.

Some of this material may overlap with your marketing plan (download a free sample marketing plan ).

Provide data for each of these elements in your business location analysis:

• The elements that attracted you to this location.
• The process you went through to identify this location as the location of choice; in other words, how you narrowed it down from the entire city to the specific location, or from the vast range of URLs to the specific URL you will use.
• Demographic analysis of the people in the area. Be sure to focus in on the make-up of your target market. If you market to women ages 18- 35, talk about what the overall demographic makeup is in your area and (in greater detail) the demographics of the areas women ages 18 – 35.
• Traffic patterns (for example: Time of day – are there rush hours when you’ll be busier?)
• Refer to your marketing plan section where you might talk about how your signage will receive greater exposure at certain times or how your advertising appropriately targets your market.
• Access to future employees: are there enough people qualified to work for your business in the area?
• Competition in the area.

Location Analysis Example

Food chain Whole Foods , now owned by Amazon, picks their locations based on many factors, not just population density in a neighborhood. They found that one of the key drivers that determines whether patrons will shop at their grocery stores is their level of education. As a result, their site selection process looks at locations with a higher per capita level of college degrees.

Costco takes into account population trends to ensure that the neighborhoods in which they locate their stores can sustain sales of their bulk-packaged products.

Walmart uses advertisements to see how far people will go to buy products at their stores. They track usage of mobile advertisements and create a geofence boundary to identify who goes where to buy what. This analysis helps them with their site selection for new stores.

Business Location Analysis

Next, analyze the data you gathered above. This is an important step because it shows the considerations and thought process you put into your business location analysis. Many location analysis examples overlook this part.

Including only the data reduces your chances of success. Add these elements to put perspective on your reasoning:

• Challenges you will overcome. For example, is it difficult to make a left turn across traffic to get to your store? Do people have to “feed the meter”? Those could substantially reduce your target market.
• What your competitors are doing and what you will do differently. You probably already did quite a bit of this in the marketing plan section of your business plan, but this has a slightly different focus and you may want to reference some of those ideas.
• Outline best case scenario and contingency plans, referencing your marketing plan against your demographics.
• Highlight the strategies you can use to access the area’s workforce as your business grows. A good indicator is the presence of companies like yours, which provides an opportunity for you to recruit qualified employees.
• Find competitors in the same area, or in an area of similar demographics, and identify what they’re doing to be successful.

Avoid picking a new location just because it has cheap rent. Signing such a business lease could spell disaster for your business because you may not have access to the clientele and workforce you need to succeed. Paying a little more for for the right address can boost your profits in a big way.

Do the research and think through the implications of your data to dramatically improve your chances of success at your new location.

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December 28, 2021

How to Plan & Design a Manufacturing Plant Layout? (Video Examples Included)

Our experts at Visual Components discuss how to plan and design a manufacturing plant layout with a simulation case. We review the benefits, process, and necessity for a high-quality plant layout in your business organization.

Discover the essentials of factory layout design using advanced simulation and CAD technology. This approach aims to optimize space and efficiency, catering to each factory’s unique needs. Learn about creating lean layouts that streamline production and enhance workflow. Gain insights into how strategic planning can lead to cost savings and increased productivity. Explore the steps from concept to execution, including real-world examples, demonstrating the benefits of effective layout planning for manufacturing success.

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When it comes to running a manufacturing facility, there are a lot of things to consider. As an owner or manager, you’re probably looking for ways to speed up your process, improve your yield, and increase your profit. Did you know that a simple plant layout can achieve all three of these goals? 

Layouts are often overlooked, despite their huge money-saving potential. 

In this piece, we’ll discuss what is meant by a plant layout, some benefits of a layout, an example, and our step-by-step process for laying out a plant. 

These are the topics we’ll cover. You can also jump to the part that interests you the most 🏃🏻

• What is meant by a plant layout?
• What is a lean plant layout?
• What are the characteristics of a good plant layout?
• Plant layout design benefits

Plant layout example

• Step-by-step plant layout design process
• Case: tire assembly and warehousing layout

Let’s go! 

What is meant by a plant layout? 

The plant layout definition is simple: it’s a way to draw your facility’s building, equipment, and major components on paper. It’s typically done through 2D CAD (2-dimensional Computer-Aided Drafting and Design) software. 

The designer will use real-world dimensions of your equipment and facility and layout a scaled model of your plant. Without using real dimensions, the final layout won’t be as helpful for your plant. 

In a lot of cases, the designer will submit a final layout that allows the viewer to fly through the building, seeing the equipment in motion and observing how the process looks. Since everything is a scale model, the viewer can find out how much distance there is between equipment, for walkways, and so on. 

Since it’s all done on paper, this can be done before getting equipment or before having a warehouse. It also allows the designer to change the layout as much as they’d like. 

The layout includes a lot of different features: 

• How product moves through your building 
• Equipment 
• Building floorplan 
• Dimensional distances between everything 
• Visualization of your process 

What is a lean plant layout? 

If you take the concept one step further, you can start optimizing everything. In a lean plant layout, the designer will start incorporating lean principles into the floorplan. 

A big principle in lean layouts is adding sections for different operations. If your process has multiple steps, like cutting, organizing, and packing your product, then it will be broken into different physical areas. 

Cutting will be done in one zone, organizing in another, and packing in a third. This also groups together the required machinery and personnel to expedite the process. 

Why does this work? Material and people travel shorter distances, the layout is more compact, and everything is streamlined. 

There are a lot of other concepts that go into lean principles (a lean layout). For the sake of brevity, we’ll leave it there. 

What are the characteristics of a good plant layout? 

Knowing whether a plant layout is good or not really depends on your operations and needs. In general, there are a few characteristics to look for: 

• Effectively uses the space . One of the limiting factors in your operation is how much space you have. You can’t just invent new space, so you have to get creative with the space you have. A good plant layout effectively uses every square inch of operation space. 
• Accessible design . At the end of the day, there should be enough space between items for the full floorplan to be accessible. This means that material handlers need enough space for themselves as well as the product they’re carrying around the building. 
• Flexibility for future growth . Make sure that the floorplan isn’t going to constrict your operation. A lot of manufacturing plants benefit by adding a potential for 20-40% growth. This doesn’t mean that you have to predict exactly how much you’ll grow in a decade, just design with future growth in mind. 
• Has your operation in mind . You need a layout that works for your individual operation. There are very few cookie-cutter solutions that fit the needs of your business — your layout is the same way. A good plant layout is specialized to what your business needs. 

If you want to oversimplify this idea, a good plant layout is one that achieves the goals of your operation while optimizing every possible parameter. 

Plant layout design benefits 

Why do people spend so much time putting together a plant layout? There are a number of benefits. Let’s quickly review some of the top reasons why people opt for a plant layout in their business organization. 

Reduce cycle time 

Cycle time is a term that quantifies how long it takes a business to make a product. It’s the combination of every process step that’s required to make your end product. 

With a good plant layout, everything is set up with the operation in mind. As a result, businesses will see a reduced cycle time. 

Increase Operational Speed 

On top of an overall speed increase, you’ll find speed increases in every step of the process. This goes back to the idea of splitting your operation into different zones. 

Rather than an operator walking across your warehouse to perform a task, everything will be centralized. Think of it as storing the knives next to the cutting board in your kitchen. 

Maximize Your Square Footage 

Depending on where you’re located, the price of your land could be your biggest expense. Due to that fact, most people want to maximize their square footage. 

With a manufacturing plant layout, you have the ability to move equipment around on paper in order to maximize your square footage. 

The designer can do things like relocating, rotating, and reorienting equipment to see which option makes the most sense for your facility. Clearly, this is a lot faster and less expensive than physically changing around equipment and testing the new layout. 

Visualize and Tweak Your Operational Process 

Once things are laid out, it might help you to see a potential shortcut in your operation. Maybe you can save time and money by moving one step of your process to another part of the cycle. 

This is highly dependent on your operation, but we’ve seen it happen in the past: a company thinks their operation is optimized until they do a plant layout and notice some shortcomings. 

Maximize Profits 

When you combine all of these factors, you’re left with one big benefit: maximized profits. This is the major reason why a lot of businesses opt for putting together a plant layout. 

You save time, space, and create more products each year. That should sound like millions of dollar signs annually. 

To help illustrate this idea, let’s look at an example. Our team at Visual Components lead the design for a company called Midea. 

Here’s a case study of one of our previous clients, Midea . They’re the world’s largest producer of major appliances. Before adding a new, high-end production line, they decided to get a plant layout. 

Our simulation looked at the real-world size and operational speed of their different machines. We worked closely with their team to understand how the process works, what the limiting factors were, and what kind of flow their operation had. 

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After we produced some rounds of layouts, we arrived at, what both parties deemed to be, the best possible arrangement. We saved their operation a lot: 

• Floor space used was reduced by 10% 
• Production capacity increased 10% 
• Reduced product defects by 10x 
• Construction schedule expedited 20% 
• Total project cost savings: $879,000, roughly 15% 
• Long-term labor cost reduction, operational efficiency increase, and projected profit increase 

This project for Midea shows the importance of lean plant layouts. We foresee an increase in their profits year over year — this isn’t just a short-term, upfront cost saving. The future of their operation will benefit thanks to an initial plant layout. 

Step-by-step plant layout design process with a case example 

Curious about what the plant layout design process looks like? Here’s a step-by-step process that we typically follow for our clients. Here’s our workflow for planning and building a plant layout: 

1. Understanding clients’ needs 

It all starts with understanding our clients’ needs. Before a plant layout can be generated, some information about the operation needs to be explored. 

This entails a few conversations going over some basics like floor space, equipment, flow, and more. 

For example, our customer Firac received a clear request from their client — to automate a manual screw tightening process. Read  the whole story.  

2. Planning manufacturing system design 

Now it’s time to start drafting. Different companies will opt for different manufacturing programs in this step. 

Some companies will only provide a 2D layout with no motion included. Others will use a 3D layout that shows how the equipment will move and how the product goes through the cycle. 

At Visual Components, we typically use a 2D layout for the building and add a static 3D layout on top. This overlay ensures dimensional accuracy which is paramount in making a plant layout. 

3. Equipment selection 

Now it’s time to select and add equipment. This will go right into our static 3D layout, so it can be changed later. 

Things like the overall size, motion constraints, and equipment parameters will be inputted during this step. This is done to ensure the model is precise and accurate. 

As you probably noticed from our Midea case study, the equipment physically moves and operates in our model. During this step, we’re making sure our clients get the best visual of their potential layout. 

To help our clients save time on equipment selection, we offer ready-made components.  Visual Components eCatalog  has a library of virtual models of robots, machines, and equipment from dozens of leading brands in industrial automation. We have over 1,500 pre-defined and ready-to-use components, to be exact. 

4. Layout design 

Once the equipment is selected, the designer can start moving around components. This is part of the optimization process where items are moved around until they’re in the perfect place. 

Since the equipment and building are already drawn on the computer, this step is more of a “drag and drop” process. On the computer, the designer will move around equipment, change its orientation, and find the best place for the physical pieces. 

Jump to 2:34-5:50 in the video below to see how it works in practice. 

5. Define the flow 

In step 5, we’ll start optimizing the flow. There are three major parts of this step: 

• Defining the products 
• Defining the processes 
• Defining the process flow 

There’s some overlap between this and the first step on the list. However, this step focuses on optimizing everything from a layout perspective. 

This might mean changing the location of equipment, storage, and walkways to improve the overall process. 

The flow is how the material cycle looks in your operation. In other words, when you trace the product from raw material to shipment, that’s the flow. 

Jump to 6:43-9:22 in the same video below to see how it works in practice. 

6. Simulation 

With all of these parameters in mind, our team is ready to put together a simulation. The simulation will show the material and how it physically moves down the line. 

A simulation is a 3D video that shows a flyby through your facility. It shows how the equipment and product move throughout. The Midea video discussed earlier is a great example of a simulation that our team makes. 

However, this isn’t the final stage. Part of the simulation entails finding bottlenecks. This is where your operation is slowing down and hurting the production speed. 

After finding a bottleneck, our team will work to alleviate them. Removing even one bottleneck in your operation can result in a huge performance improvement. 

Some of our design software comes with plant layout analysis that aides us in targeting and alleviating these bottlenecks. This is another benefit of using computer-based plant layouts. 

7. Modify And Validate the Changes 

The final stage is all about making changes to improve the design. We typically target metrics when it comes to the use of space, operation cycle time, and the ability for product defects. 

These changes result in faster speeds and more room for profit within your business on an annual scale. 

If this layout is done before construction, you’ll also find some construction cost savings built into this step. 

The validation stage involves our clients and getting valuable feedback from you. 

Case: Tire Assembly and Warehousing Layout

Let’s discuss a case where the task was to design, simulate, analyze and optimize a manufacturing and warehousing system based on predefined production and layout goals. 

This case is about a tire assembly and warehousing facility that is capable of handling a certain number of tires before they are supplied to a downstream assembly line. We can assume that the downstream is a car manufacturing plant. 

Products and product variants 

The product that we had to work with in this case was tires however there were many product variants. 

First, we had three tires types meaning tires in three different materials. 

Next, we had five tire sizes in the three tire types. These sizes are represented in different colors of tire rims.

So including all the product variants, we had to design a system that could handle 15 different tires. 

Production goals 

Once the products and product variants were clear, the next step was to evaluate the pre-defined goals. Here’s the list of the production goals that we had to meet, 

• The customer needed a setup that was capable of handling all these tires in batches of 4. 
• The downstream assembly required that this tire plant could supply 720 tires per hour regardless of how many it can store. The main objective was to have a functional system that provides uninterrupted supply to the downstream assembly regardless of how many tires it could store. 
• Since we were working with batches of 4, 720 tires per hour meant that the goal was to supply 3 sets of tires per minute.

Layout Goals 

Based on the production goals, there were also some layout goals, 

• There must be enough buffer to recover from possible machine downtime. 
• There must be enough warehouse to store tires for 5 hours of production meaning 900 sets in 5 hours and they must be available at all times to ensure any downtime does not interrupt the downstream supply. 
• Also, in addition to storage, we needed to ensure that we had enough conveyor capacity to handle this amount and variety of products. 

Layout Overview and Functionality 

There layout was then designed based on the given production and layout goals. Here is a video for a closer look at the layout design and functionality of different sections, 

1. The tire types are fed to the robot cell as a batch of 4. 

2. Next, Tire rims which represent different sizes of the tires are incoming through conveyors behind the robot cell. 

3. The robot cell is designed with 4 assembly lines. Each of these has a Yaskawa HP20RD robot on top of a smart pedestal with a tire tool. This tire tool helps to pick the tire type, lubricate it and assemble it with the rim. 

4. Once Assembled, these tires go through a different set of machines where they are fixed and balanced before they are ready to be stored in the warehouse. 

5. The tires are then sent towards the warehousing side with five storage sections, one for each tire size and four cartesian robots. 

6. Each of these robots has certain tasks assigned to them shortly explained here, 

• The first red cartesian robot sorts the tires by sizes onto their specific conveyors 
• The second dark grey cartesian robot picks one stack of tires at a time and places them in their relevant tire size storage section. 
• The third dark grey cartesian robot with beige pillars stores the tires by their sizes in the storage section and also supplies the sets forward when needed. 
• The fourth steel-blue robot that is closer to the entrance of the warehousing collects the supplied stacks of tires released by the previous robot and places them in the rack. These racks are then picked and stored by the forklift in the next storage area. 

7. From the last storage, the tires are then supplied to the downstream assembly as they’re needed. 

Performance evaluation of the designed systems 

Initially, two scenarios were designed and their simulation performance was evaluated. 

The first scenario consisted of 4 robot assembly lines.

The second one had 5 robots assembly lines. 

Later, we realized that machine breakdowns are not taken into account in the first two scenarios. Machine breakdowns could be due to many reasons but the most common reason for a production stoppage is usually Maintenance. So, the Maintenance times or Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) averaging 150 seconds were added to the machines in the robot cell. Also, the maintenance cycle was defined which meant the machine maintenance had to be carried out after every 30 tires were produced. 

After these metrics were clear and defined, two more scenarios were built, basically, the same and 1st and 2nd scenarios but now with MTBF values included. 

Overall, four scenarios were designed and simulated. Here is the summary of all scenarios with their production output.

The difference in the production output is quite clear between scenarios where MTBF values were not considered and once they were. Based on the scenarios, it was safe to say that Scenario four with five assembly lines was able to generate the required goal of 780 tires per hour. This scenario was then locked as the final design for this case. 

Summary of case results 

Some important conclusions of this case were, 

• The designed system was capable of handling batches of four tires in all the product variants. 
• There was enough buffer to recover from possible machine downtimes. 
• The production rate of tire assembly was not constant after the maintenance times were added but with enough buffers and storage systems, the supply to downstream was smooth. 
• The last but one of the most important lessons to learn from this case was if the simulation is run with too few details, the results may be wrong like the clear difference between the production outputs in the first two scenarios compared to the last two. 

Conclusion 

We just reviewed how to plan and design a manufacturing plant layout. Now, you should know the benefits and process that goes into making a layout for your plant. With  Visual Components , designing a plant layout is more logical, visual, and easier to do. Contact us today to get started. We’ll show you how your operation can save time and money thanks to our services.

Curious to learn more on the topic? Be sure to  download our eBook  about planning and optimizing your manufacturing plant layout. 

Further reading

Boosting Production Line Efficiency: A Guide on Improving Production Output

Blog | March 27, 2024 Industry

An Introduction to Virtual Commissioning

Blog | February 22, 2024 Industry

Are Manufacturers Really Ready for the Digital Era? (Survey Results)

Blog | October 16, 2023 Industry

A Guide to Effective Plant Layout and Expansion Strategies

If you are a plant manager, you know how important it is to have an effective plant layout. It can make or break your manufacturing operations, affecting efficiency, productivity, quality, safety, and customer satisfaction.

Got a manufacturing company with less than 20 employees? Transform operations with the GENEDGE Emerging Business Program!

But what makes a good plant layout? And how can you design or improve your existing layout to meet your current and future needs?

In this blog post, we at GENEDGE will share tips and best practices for using lean principles to create a lean plant layout.

In this blog, we’ll cover:

• What a lean plant layout is
• How to design a lean plant layout
• How industry leaders are applying lean principles to production

What is a Lean Plant Layout?

A lean plant layout streamlines your smart factory workflow, cuts waste, and enhances value, leading to reduced costs and improved quality. It’s all about arranging your processes with the end-to-end flow in mind—turning raw materials into customer-ready products efficiently. Unlike conventional setups, lean layouts align tasks side-by-side, slashing unnecessary movement and handling of materials. This minimizes delays and inventory build-up, keeps the work area clear, and makes troubleshooting straightforward.

To the manufacturer’s benefit, lean layouts favor versatile, appropriately sized equipment tailored to specific product lines, boosting adaptability and reducing downtime. Visual cues play a big role, too, making operations transparent with indicators like kanban cards and color-coded areas, aiding in real-time communication and organization.

How to Design a Lean Plant Layout

Designing a lean plant layout is not a one-time project but a continuous improvement process . But the steps can be pretty simple:

Map Your Value Streams

Identify what you produce and the steps involved from start to finish. Use value stream maps to visualize your process, noting times, inventory, and the flow of information.

Identify and Analyze Wastage

Look for inefficiencies—long walks, excess stock, quality issues, bottlenecks, or unnecessary production. Tools like spaghetti diagrams and 5S can help identify what’s not working and why.

Plan Your Future State

With your analysis in hand, sketch out a new, waste-reducing layout. Use diagrams and software to bring your vision to life, and plan the resources and time you’ll need to make the changes.

Implement and Monitor

Put your plan into action and rejig your space. Keep an eye on key performance indicators to see how things are improving. Regular checks and team feedback will help you refine your layout even further.

Examples of Lean Plant Layout and Expansion Strategies

Many companies have successfully applied lean principles to their plant layout and expansion strategies. Here are some prime examples:

• Toyota , the pioneer of lean manufacturing, has designed its plants to achieve a one-piece flow, where each product moves smoothly from one process to the next without any interruption or waste. Toyota also uses flexible equipment that can produce different models for better customization . Neat!
• Virginia MetalFab , a leading metal manufacturer in Virginia, partnered with GENEDGE to evolve from a small “job shop” into a full production company. With GENEDGE’s assistance, Virginia MetalFab expanded its manufacturing and fabrication services, achieving a leap in market share for the transportation industry and enhancing its physical footprint. This expansion was facilitated by a comprehensive commercialization plan and a lean facility layout, resulting in significant sales, job creation, and cost savings.
• Jeff Shook at GENEDGE , an Engagement Manager, stands out for his skill in improving how plants are arranged and operated. Thanks to his international experience and hands-on work with the renowned Toyota Production System, Jeff has played a key role in bringing manufacturing back to local shores and driving efficiency in a range of sectors. He’s known for significantly upgrading Pioneer Electronic Corporation’s assembly lines to handle thousands of products every day and for improving the manufacturing of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) units at Daikin Applied Americas, which greatly boosted their output and quality.
• Chad H. Goff at GENEDGE , an engagement consultant with over 29 years of experience in product management, spearheads 2D & 3D design and oversees large-scale projects. Chad excels in utilizing Digital Twin technology and software like FlexSim to refine manufacturing processes and create digital plant layouts.

Redefine Your Factory Plant with GENEDGE

Remember, perfection may be a moving target, but with lean, you’re always driving forward—the quest for improvement is unending. Ready to start this transformative journey? Partner with GENEDGE. Our expertise will guide you through every step, from initial assessment to final implementation, ensuring continuous improvement becomes the hallmark of your manufacturing operations. Get a free assessment with GENEDGE today.

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How to Select the Location of Your New Manufacturing Plant

11/29/2017 | 152 Likes | Manufacturing , Assembly , Heavy Duty , Industrial Facilities , Material Handling ,

Determining where to locate your next manufacturing plant can be a difficult decision, and it’s one that requires significant due diligence. We take a comprehensive look at the key factors — from the availability of skilled workers to effective corporate tax rates and quality of life issues — that can make your manufacturing relocation plan a success.

First, a quick disclaimer: as well all know, no two manufacturing operations are alike. For example, the needs of a specialized, R&D-driven medical devices company will be different from a price-sensitive, mass-market consumer goods operation. Likewise, an OEM electronics component supplier whose output delivery needs to be timed to the minute to satisfy a major automotive manufacturing plant will have different location requirements than a manufacturer processing raw materials sourced from a mining operation in Wyoming.

In other words, even though we’re presenting a comprehensive framework of manufacturing relocation factors, we hope it’s obvious that the importance of any one factor will be determined by the specific needs of your organization! Having said that, let’s take a look at hard costs first, followed by indirect, soft costs. Then we’ll look at some future trends to consider when weighing a manufacturing relocation decision, followed by a short list of some of the leading low-cost domestic and foreign locations. Finally, we’ll take stock of the pros and cons that could influence your own decision.

Manufacturing Relocation: Direct Hard Cost Factors to Consider

In this section, we’ll look at five relocation factors that can have a direct, measurable impact on the bottom line.

1. Supply Chain Infrastructure / Logistics and Access to Customer Markets

Does the candidate location bring you closer to your customer markets? Moving your manufacturing plant closer to your customers can help you increase profits or build up market share by speeding up delivery times, reducing inventory, and cutting costs.

Can you build an efficient, end-to-end supply chain in the candidate city, or will delivery of some components or raw materials be compromised by long distances or unreliable connections? Will weather conditions create unacceptable delays during part of the year?

We recommend performing a complete review of the region’s infrastructure, e.g. deepwater ports, freight rail access, trucking and highway connections, international airports, expediting and transshipment services, as well as Internet, communication, power and water utilities to determine if they are reliable and efficient enough to meet your specific needs.

2. Effective Corporate Tax Rates and Incentives

For each candidate location, it’s crucial to calculate the total impact of local, state, and national taxes, including property-based taxes. Quite a few jurisdictions offer tax breaks and rebates to companies in exchange for activities that benefit their community, such as renovating existing facilities or remediating brown-field sites, investing in targeted industries that create new jobs or conducting research and development activities.

(If your customer includes the Federal Government, don’t overlook preferential contract treatment set-asides — through the HUBZone program, for example — for companies headquartered in historically low-income census tracts.)

It’s also becoming more common for major companies, such as Boeing or Amazon, to conduct highly-publicized campaigns when choosing the location of a new facility. Many cities, regions, and states are willing to negotiate multi-year tax incentives or abatements in exchange for creating new jobs or locating facilities in their jurisdictions. Incentives may be available at the country level as well; for example, France has become notably more aggressive in courting tech-oriented companies .

3. Tax Domiciles, Exchange Rates and Economic Conditions

While smaller manufacturing companies are likely to keep things simple by limiting themselves to domestic operations, large corporations, such as Apple and Nike, have recently been thrust into the news as details of their highly complex tax domicile and ownership structures have been leaked to the press.

That’s quite a bit beyond our remit to provide that level of corporate advice*, as we’d rather stick to much more transparent considerations, such as exchange rates and general economic conditions. With respect to exchange rates, quite a few multi-national companies find it advantageous to hedge against dramatic shifts in exchange rates by having multiple manufacturing bases around the world. When one currency goes up, production can shift to a location with a more favorable exchange rate. And countries with long-term economic growth (and rising consumer incomes) obviously make better candidates for locating consumer goods manufacturing plants — unless your goal is to export 100% of the goods from countries with very low, depressed wages.

*We do note that proposed changes to the US Corporate tax code now before Congress (as of late November 2017) are worth careful monitoring as potential changes to the tax code may encourage US companies to repatriate their foreign-earned profits back to the USA.

4. Business Regulatory Regimes and Customs/Trade Agreements

Substantial trade agreements (such as NAFTA in North America), customs unions (such as the European Union), and special economic zones (such as China’s Shenzhen, the city immediately north of Hong Kong) have helped create regional manufacturing zones, where goods in process (as well as completed goods) can travel across country borders with minimal delays or customs duties.  Harmonizing regulations across borders has also reduced non-tariff-based trade barriers. This combination has led to the development of highly-sophisticated manufactured goods supply chains; for example, oftentimes the individual components of automobiles produced North America make multiple trips across the Mexican, US, and Canadian borders before final assembly.

There are also new agreements are on the horizon that may impact manufacturing relocation decisions as well, such as the revived negotiations for a pan-Pacific trade agreement (once known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership) that will stretch from Canada to Chile, to New Zealand and Australia, to Japan and, potentially, Korea. (The US has opted out, and China has yet to be invited.)

On the one hand, so important are the ramifications of major trade agreements and customs unions, such as NAFTA and the EU, that they can be considered in some cases to be the sole determining factor when deciding where to locate a new manufacturing plant. On the other hand, these agreements can be politically controversial: witness the UK’s vote to leave the EU over issues such as free movement of people — despite repeated warnings from companies, such as Honda and Airbus, that a ‘hard’ Brexit would put their UK manufacturing operations at risk. Similarly, many American workers have come to resent NAFTA, for whom the agreement represents nothing more than jobs shifting to Mexico. However, changes to the NAFTA agreement recently proposed by the US trade representatives may prove just as disruptive to workers in the Detroit automobile industry as it will to mid-west farmers who depend upon grain sales to Mexico.

North American automotive manufacturing experts discuss ways that changes proposed by the US Administration to NAFTA’s rules-of-origin content regulation will affect North American manufacturing competitiveness.

The bottom line: when choosing a manufacturing location, have your eyes wide open to potential treaty and regulatory regime changes that may be on the horizon. Carefully investigate business regulations, permitting times (maddeningly long in Brazil and Greece), environmental regulations, and labor rules that would apply in your proposed new location. For example, European Union rules governing environmental pollution (such as the elimination of lead in manufacturing processes) and greenhouse gas reduction can be surprisingly strict, as can requirements for compensation and notice due to workers facing potential layoffs.

5. Business Operating Costs

Performing due diligence on direct business operating costs is next. You’ll want to collect data on these areas:

Facility / Real Estate Costs

What is the market for purchasing or leasing real estate? Will it be more advantageous to build or rent a new facility or renovate an existing one? Can you get an option for potential expansion? What are the tax implications (mentioned above) for owned property, including tools and inventory?

Utility Costs

Is the country self-sufficient in energy or could its supplies be disrupted by an energy boycott or cutoff? Are the utility costs favorable and services reliable? Will you need to budget for more than just emergency backup generators? Industries with high energy demands, such as data centers or aluminum alloy manufacturers, tend to gravitate to locations with low-cost energy resources, such as hydroelectric power.

Labor Unions and Wage Costs

What is the availability of skilled workers required for your manufacturing plant? What are the current local wage rates and minimum wage standards? Are there local training centers that graduate workers with the skills you need, or will you need to invest in training programs or pay to relocate staff? Are most manufacturing plants unionized in this location? Does the location have open or closed shop union regulations? How would you characterize the labor union’s relationship with local industry?

Employee Benefits such as Healthcare, Pensions, Unemployment, Insurance

What are the customary employee benefits in this location?

For example, will defined-benefit retirement plans (e.g. traditional pensions) or defined-contribution retirement plans (e.g. 401K) planned-benefit pensions be required as part of the compensation package?

What about employer-provided healthcare plans? Keep in mind that outside the USA most healthcare plans do not require employer contributions, these are provided either by direct insurance plans paid directly by individuals or funded by the government directly.

Is the employer responsible for paying unemployment, occupational accident or life insurance policy premiums in the proposed location? While these are benefits typically offered by American companies, this can vary worldwide.

Manufacturing Relocation: Indirect and Soft Cost Factors to Consider

Now let’s take stock of some of the indirect factors that you should consider when undertaking a manufacturing plant location analysis.

1. Network Effect / Industry Clusters / Talent and Knowledge Base

Historically, many industries tend to cluster in certain geographic areas. Examples of this include the auto and truck industry in Detroit, computers and software in Silicon Valley, pharmaceuticals in New Jersey, entertainment and media in Los Angeles, and finance in New York City or London. If there is such a cluster of industry in your sector, you should weigh potential pros and cons of the “network effect” that comes from being located near your competitors. When a region is known for a particular industry segment, it can attract talent and support institutional “know-how” that takes many beneficial forms, from informal industry contacts to educational programs in area schools and universities. It could also lead to job poaching or worse, such as compromising industrial secrets, which may lead you to decide to avoid being located anywhere near a competitor!

2. Business Transparency and Criminal Activity

As Americans, we tend to think of successful business transactions in terms of offering the best deal, the best product, the best service. As such, the idea that you have to pay a bribe to a potential customer or an official to secure a deal, or obtain a license or agreement doesn’t happen that often (not the least of which because it’s illegal this country). However, this level of business transaction transparency is not universal around the world. Paying money to customers, government officials, and organized crime figures can be commonplace in some parts of the world, which in turn, can pose problems for Americans who want to avoid these practices and also avoid violating American law. The stakes can be even higher. Criminal activities can be life-threatening in countries such as Mexico, Honduras, or El Salvador, where kidnapping company officials (or their spouses or children) for exorbitant ransoms are not unheard of. In these regions, hiring bodyguard protection and the use of secure, armored vehicles are considered a good investment.

3. Cost of Living for Employees

Can your employees afford to live well in the proposed location or will high or rising costs drive up wage costs? Take a look at housing affordability, the effective income tax rates (for national, state, and city taxes, if applicable) as well a property taxes.

Is there a way for employees to get to work efficiently, such as via a cost-effective public transportation system? Will they spend hours commuting to work — either because the road/transit system is poor and overcrowded or the commute distance between the manufacturing plant and affordable housing is too far?

4. Quality of Life Consideration

Health and safety.

What’s the homicide rate? How many deaths occur on the highway due to accidents? Are there drug and crime epidemics in the region? Do the area’s hospitals and doctors provide sufficient preventative and emergency care?

Educational Institutions

Are the public schools high quality, or will it be necessary for employees to educate their children privately, for example, at expensive, English-language international schools?

Are there institutions of higher learning that can attract candidates and provide a source of skilled, creative employees?

Cultural Institutions, Language, Religious Worship

Does the city offer museums, symphonies, theater and other enriching cultural institutions? Will company executives and family members need to learn a foreign language? Does the city or state allow for freedom of assembly and religious worship?

Diversity and Inclusion

Are the city and its workforce culturally and racially diverse? If located abroad, are there equal opportunities for women, or will female managers or expat family members find themselves excluded from many aspects of daily work and home life? Will LGBT employees and expat family members be accepted or discriminated against?

Recreation and Leisure

Are there amateur or professional sports teams in the city or region?

Are there plenty of outdoor and leisure activities to promote good health and mental well-being?

Can you Future Proof Your Manufacturing Plant Decisions?

It’s hard to predict the future, but it’s a useful exercise to think about potentially disruptive changes that could have an effect on your choice of a manufacturing location. It’s easy to get blindsided by unexpected developments… after all, even Michael Bloomberg, founder of the eponymous Bloomberg financial intelligence and media company, was caught out by the unexpected plans for the UK to exit the European Union just as he opened up Bloomberg’s spanking new European headquarters — in London! 

Some of the items on this future possible developments checklist to consider include:

• Continued impact of smart, manufacturing automation and robots .
• Jobs that will be replaced by automation .
• The increasing importance of sustainability and the impact of renewable energy on manufacturing.

Top Lowest Cost USA Manufacturing Plant Locations

So, what do you think are the best locations in the US for siting your next manufacturing plant? For many, it’s not the west coast — detractors point to overcrowding and high costs, especially in real estate and salaries. (In fact, some investors are taking a second look at the mid-west as a place to invest in new tech startups .) Yet, Elon Musk has made a successful go at it, building Tesla cars in the expensive Bay Area and rocket ships along the coast east of Los Angeles.

As we said at the beginning of this article, the answer to which is the right manufacturing location for you is dependent on your industry sector and your particular mix of requirements. So we’ve turned to KPMG, who has handily enough undertaken a sector-by-sector analysis of different cities , here in the USA and abroad, and ranked them.

On a cost basis only, KPMG found these were the lowest-cost cities for operating manufacturing facilities in the US in 2016:

• Shreveport, LA
• Montgomery, AL
• Savannah, GA
• Baton Rouge, LA
• Nashville, TN
• New Orleans, LA
• Lexington, KY
• Gulfport-Biloxi, MS

Indeed, some famous names in manufacturing have moved to these cities, including Airbus (Mobile, AL), Gulfstream (Savannah, GA), Hyundai (Montgomery, AL), Lockheed Martin Corp/NASA (New Orleans, LA), Nissan (Nashville, TN), and Northrup-Grumman ( New Orleans, LA).

States with Lower Tax Rates

These states have no personal income tax:

• South Dakota

However, income tax rates are not the complete picture: sales tax, property tax, and other local taxes can affect the effective tax rate. Kiplingers publishes a comprehensive ranking of each state , which is worth evaluating to see how your candidate location ranks among the other states.

What about taxes on manufacturing facilities? According to the Tax Foundation, these states have the lowest tax rates for labor-intensive manufacturing facilities :

• Wyoming (4.3%)
• Virginia (4.3%)
• Georgia (4.6%)
• Maryland (4.9%)
• Nebraska (5.5%)
• Missouri (5.8%)
• Arizona (6%)
• South Dakota (6.0%)
• Louisiana (6.9%)
• Michigan (6.3%)

States with Low Cost of Living

In addition to taxes, there are many other factors which keep the cost of living lower in certain states. For example, states with moderate weather have reduced the need for winter heating or summer cooling. Housing, local utility rates, the cost of food, healthcare, insurance, and transportation can drive up the cost of living in a particular location.

CNBC recently published a report that ranked each state according to its cost of living . The ten cheapest states were:

• Mississippi

Open Shop States

For some, the site location selection will be influenced by laws governing labor unions. These states have “open shop” laws (also known as “Right-to-Work” laws) which make joining a labor union optional for individual employees. In 2017, over half of the states have open shop laws:

• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• South Carolina
• West Virginia

Top Low-Cost Global Manufacturing Plant Locations

What about international locations?

During 2016, KPMG found that, among ten major western economies, the strong US dollar made America the most expensive among these ten countries. Mexico came out on top, as the most cost-effective in KPMG’s ranking. Here is the list, from least to most expensive.

• Netherlands

However, the KPMG study didn’t investigate cities and countries that are increasingly making themselves known for inexpensive manufacturing, such as Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria in eastern Europe and Malaysia, India, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam in Asia.

The consulting firm Deloitte performed a worldwide analysis that ranked countries according to their manufacturing competitiveness .  While KPMG ranked the USA as the highest cost manufacturing location, Deoitte’s ranks the US as the most competitive overall. By the year 2020, Deloitte anticipates that the top 20 most competitive manufacturing companies will be ranked like this, with the US still the most competitive:

• United States
• South Korea
• United Kingdom
• Switzerland
• Czech Republic

Deloitte’s 2020 forecasts indicate that India and Vietnam will each move up six slots (compared to 2016), and Malaysia and Indonesia will each move up four slots. Along with Thailand, these countries, dubbed the “MITI V” group by Deloitte , are poised to be more competitive than China in the manufacture of labor-intensive products, such as commodity textiles, toys, and basic consumer goods.

The cost of corruption, especially bribery and extortion, is another important consideration for your manufacturing facility site selection criteria. This map from Transparency International shows the relative rankings of countries in 2016 . Denmark and New Zealand are tied for the least corrupt countries. The United States has slipped to #18.

Weighing the Pros and Cons: Why Formaspace is in Austin, Texas

Decisions get made for a variety of reasons.

As for Formaspace, we looked at the pros and cons and found that for us, locating our factory headquarters in Austin, Texas was the right location:

• We are fortunate that our region in Texas has steel manufacturers so that we can get high-quality steel locally.
• Being located in the center of the country speeds up shipping times and reduces costs for our customers.
• Austin is well-known for the University of Texas, as well as many cultural activities and festivals, including the Austin City Limits music festival and SXSW Conference for the film, interactive, and music industries.
• We enjoy good weather (despite complaining about the heat in July and August), and there are plenty of outdoor recreational activities, including cycling, hiking, and water sports.
• On the other hand, the city has grown very fast (too many of you have come!), and now it’s difficult to get around during many times of the day; new roads and public transportation projects have been slow to close the gap.
• Austin is no longer inexpensive either; housing prices have increased dramatically in recent years, making it harder to live close to the city.

Nonetheless, we’re proud to be here and wouldn’t have it any other way!

Formaspace Can Help Make Your Manufacturing Relocation a Success

When you are ready to build, renovate, or expand your manufacturing operations, you should involve Formaspace early in the process.

Our Formaspace Design Consults can work with your architect and space planners to lend our extensive advice on how to make your manufacturing facility as efficient and productive as possible — from the executive office to the production floor to the warehouse. The process starts with a Formaspace Rapid Plant Assessment : our manufacturing experts review your plans and make recommendations on ways to improve efficiency, from implementing lean manufacturing methods to proposing technical furniture solutions, such as custom manufacturing workbenches , to make your manufacturing plant more productive than ever.

Find out why Fortune 500 companies like Dell, General Electric, and Lockheed Martin turn to Formaspace to help them create productive spaces that can have a major positive impact on their bottom line.

Learn more. Contact your friendly Formaspace Design Consultant today. Just fill out your information in the quick contact form below, and get the conversation started.

Business Plan Example and Template

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What is a Business Plan?

A business plan is a document that contains the operational and financial plan of a business, and details how its objectives will be achieved. It serves as a road map for the business and can be used when pitching investors or financial institutions for debt or equity financing .

A business plan should follow a standard format and contain all the important business plan elements. Typically, it should present whatever information an investor or financial institution expects to see before providing financing to a business.

Contents of a Business Plan

A business plan should be structured in a way that it contains all the important information that investors are looking for. Here are the main sections of a business plan:

1. Title Page

The title page captures the legal information of the business, which includes the registered business name, physical address, phone number, email address, date, and the company logo.

2. Executive Summary

The executive summary is the most important section because it is the first section that investors and bankers see when they open the business plan. It provides a summary of the entire business plan. It should be written last to ensure that you don’t leave any details out. It must be short and to the point, and it should capture the reader’s attention. The executive summary should not exceed two pages.

3. Industry Overview

The industry overview section provides information about the specific industry that the business operates in. Some of the information provided in this section includes major competitors, industry trends, and estimated revenues. It also shows the company’s position in the industry and how it will compete in the market against other major players.

4. Market Analysis and Competition

The market analysis section details the target market for the company’s product offerings. This section confirms that the company understands the market and that it has already analyzed the existing market to determine that there is adequate demand to support its proposed business model.

Market analysis includes information about the target market’s demographics , geographical location, consumer behavior, and market needs. The company can present numbers and sources to give an overview of the target market size.

A business can choose to consolidate the market analysis and competition analysis into one section or present them as two separate sections.

5. Sales and Marketing Plan

The sales and marketing plan details how the company plans to sell its products to the target market. It attempts to present the business’s unique selling proposition and the channels it will use to sell its goods and services. It details the company’s advertising and promotion activities, pricing strategy, sales and distribution methods, and after-sales support.

6. Management Plan

The management plan provides an outline of the company’s legal structure, its management team, and internal and external human resource requirements. It should list the number of employees that will be needed and the remuneration to be paid to each of the employees.

Any external professionals, such as lawyers, valuers, architects, and consultants, that the company will need should also be included. If the company intends to use the business plan to source funding from investors, it should list the members of the executive team, as well as the members of the advisory board.

7. Operating Plan

The operating plan provides an overview of the company’s physical requirements, such as office space, machinery, labor, supplies, and inventory . For a business that requires custom warehouses and specialized equipment, the operating plan will be more detailed, as compared to, say, a home-based consulting business. If the business plan is for a manufacturing company, it will include information on raw material requirements and the supply chain.

8. Financial Plan

The financial plan is an important section that will often determine whether the business will obtain required financing from financial institutions, investors, or venture capitalists. It should demonstrate that the proposed business is viable and will return enough revenues to be able to meet its financial obligations. Some of the information contained in the financial plan includes a projected income statement , balance sheet, and cash flow.

9. Appendices and Exhibits

The appendices and exhibits part is the last section of a business plan. It includes any additional information that banks and investors may be interested in or that adds credibility to the business. Some of the information that may be included in the appendices section includes office/building plans, detailed market research , products/services offering information, marketing brochures, and credit histories of the promoters.

Business Plan Template

Here is a basic template that any business can use when developing its business plan:

Section 1: Executive Summary

• Present the company’s mission.
• Describe the company’s product and/or service offerings.
• Give a summary of the target market and its demographics.
• Summarize the industry competition and how the company will capture a share of the available market.
• Give a summary of the operational plan, such as inventory, office and labor, and equipment requirements.

Section 2: Industry Overview

• Describe the company’s position in the industry.
• Describe the existing competition and the major players in the industry.
• Provide information about the industry that the business will operate in, estimated revenues, industry trends, government influences, as well as the demographics of the target market.

Section 3: Market Analysis and Competition

• Define your target market, their needs, and their geographical location.
• Describe the size of the market, the units of the company’s products that potential customers may buy, and the market changes that may occur due to overall economic changes.
• Give an overview of the estimated sales volume vis-à-vis what competitors sell.
• Give a plan on how the company plans to combat the existing competition to gain and retain market share.

Section 4: Sales and Marketing Plan

• Describe the products that the company will offer for sale and its unique selling proposition.
• List the different advertising platforms that the business will use to get its message to customers.
• Describe how the business plans to price its products in a way that allows it to make a profit.
• Give details on how the company’s products will be distributed to the target market and the shipping method.

Section 5: Management Plan

• Describe the organizational structure of the company.
• List the owners of the company and their ownership percentages.
• List the key executives, their roles, and remuneration.
• List any internal and external professionals that the company plans to hire, and how they will be compensated.
• Include a list of the members of the advisory board, if available.

Section 6: Operating Plan

• Describe the location of the business, including office and warehouse requirements.
• Describe the labor requirement of the company. Outline the number of staff that the company needs, their roles, skills training needed, and employee tenures (full-time or part-time).
• Describe the manufacturing process, and the time it will take to produce one unit of a product.
• Describe the equipment and machinery requirements, and if the company will lease or purchase equipment and machinery, and the related costs that the company estimates it will incur.
• Provide a list of raw material requirements, how they will be sourced, and the main suppliers that will supply the required inputs.

Section 7: Financial Plan

• Describe the financial projections of the company, by including the projected income statement, projected cash flow statement, and the balance sheet projection.

Section 8: Appendices and Exhibits

• Quotes of building and machinery leases
• Proposed office and warehouse plan
• Market research and a summary of the target market
• Credit information of the owners
• List of product and/or services

Related Readings

Thank you for reading CFI’s guide to Business Plans. To keep learning and advancing your career, the following CFI resources will be helpful:

• Corporate Structure
• Three Financial Statements
• Business Model Canvas Examples
• See all management & strategy resources
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• Write Your Business Plan | Part 1 Overview Video
• The Basics of Writing a Business Plan
• How to Use Your Business Plan Most Effectively
• 12 Reasons You Need a Business Plan
• The Main Objectives of a Business Plan
• What to Include and Not Include in a Successful Business Plan
• The Top 4 Types of Business Plans
• A Step-by-Step Guide to Presenting Your Business Plan in 10 Slides
• 6 Tips for Making a Winning Business Presentation
• 3 Key Things You Need to Know About Financing Your Business
• 12 Ways to Set Realistic Business Goals and Objectives
• How to Perfectly Pitch Your Business Plan in 10 Minutes
• Write Your Business Plan | Part 2 Overview Video
• How to Fund Your Business Through Friends and Family Loans and Crowdsourcing
• How to Fund Your Business Using Banks and Credit Unions
• How to Fund Your Business With an SBA Loan
• How to Fund Your Business With Bonds and Indirect Funding Sources
• How to Fund Your Business With Venture Capital
• How to Fund Your Business With Angel Investors
• How to Use Your Business Plan to Track Performance
• How to Make Your Business Plan Attractive to Prospective Partners
• Is This Idea Going to Work? How to Assess the Potential of Your Business.
• When to Update Your Business Plan
• Write Your Business Plan | Part 3 Overview Video
• How to Write the Management Team Section to Your Business Plan
• How to Create a Strategic Hiring Plan
• How to Write a Business Plan Executive Summary That Sells Your Idea
• How to Build a Team of Outside Experts for Your Business
• Use This Worksheet to Write a Product Description That Sells
• What Is Your Unique Selling Proposition? Use This Worksheet to Find Your Greatest Strength.
• How to Raise Money With Your Business Plan
• Customers and Investors Don't Want Products. They Want Solutions.
• Write Your Business Plan | Part 4 Overview Video
• 5 Essential Elements of Your Industry Trends Plan
• How to Identify and Research Your Competition
• Who Is Your Ideal Customer? 4 Questions to Ask Yourself.
• How to Identify Market Trends in Your Business Plan
• How to Define Your Product and Set Your Prices
• How to Determine the Barriers to Entry for Your Business
• How to Get Customers in Your Store and Drive Traffic to Your Website
• How to Effectively Promote Your Business to Customers and Investors
• Write Your Business Plan | Part 5 Overview Video
• What Equipment and Facilities to Include in Your Business Plan
• How to Write an Income Statement for Your Business Plan
• How to Make a Balance Sheet
• How to Make a Cash Flow Statement
• How to Use Financial Ratios to Understand the Health of Your Business
• How to Write an Operations Plan for Retail and Sales Businesses
• How to Make Realistic Financial Forecasts
• How to Write an Operations Plan for Manufacturers
• What Technology Needs to Include In Your Business Plan
• How to List Personnel and Materials in Your Business Plan
• The Role of Franchising
• The Best Ways to Follow Up on a Buisiness Plan
• The Best Books, Sites, Trade Associations and Resources to Get Your Business Funded and Running
• How to Hire the Right Business Plan Consultant
• Business Plan Lingo and Resources All Entrepreneurs Should Know
• How to Write a Letter of Introduction
• What To Put on the Cover Page of a Business Plan
• How to Format Your Business Plan
• 6 Steps to Getting Your Business Plan In Front of Investors

What Equipment and Facilities to Include in Your Business Plan Investors will want a detailed list of the equipment your business requires and where you plan to operate. Here's a checklist to get you started.

By Eric Butow Oct 27, 2023

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

This is part 2 / 12 of Write Your Business Plan: Section 5: Organizing Operations and Finances series.

A manufacturer will likely need all sorts of equipment, such as cars, trucks, computers, telecom systems, and machinery of every description for bending metal, milling wood, forming plastic, or otherwise making a product out of raw materials. A lot of this equipment is expensive and hard to move or sell once purchased.

Moreover, manufacturers often require a facility to house this equipment and operate the business.

Related: How to List Personel and Materials in Your Business Plan

Naturally, investors are very interested in your plans for purchasing equipment and facilities. But this part of your plan doesn't have to be long—just be sure it's complete.

Make a list of every sizable piece of equipment you anticipate needing. Include a description of its features, its functions, and, of course, its cost. In addition, list all facilities you plan on buying or leasing.

Be ready to defend the need to own the more expensive items. Bankers and other investors are loath to plunk down money for capital equipment that can be resold only for far less than its purchase price. Also, consider leasing what you need if you are starting out. Once you show that you are responsible for paying your bills and sales look good, you can apply for a small business loan or a line of credit with greater success.

Related: How to Write an Operations Plan for Manufacturers

Unless you're a globe-trotting consultant whose office is his suitcase, your plan will need to describe the facilities in which your business will be housed. Even home-based business owners now describe their home offices as the trend continues to snowball, thanks largely to mobile communications.

Land and buildings are often the largest capital items on any company's balance sheet. So it makes sense to go into detail about what you have and what you need. Decide first how much space you require in square feet. Don't forget to include room for expansion if you anticipate growth. Now consider the location. You may need to be close to a labor force and materials suppliers. Transportation needs, such as proximity to rail, interstate highways, or airports, can also be important. Next, ask whether there is any specific layout that you need.

Related: What Technology to Include In Your Business Plan

Draw up a floor plan to see if your factory floor can fit into the space you have in mind. Manufacturers today do most of their ordering and communications online, so you need to ensure that your location has excellent connectivity.

To determine the cost of facilities, you'll first have to decide whether you will lease or buy space and what your rent or mortgage payments will be for the chosen option. Don't forget to include brokerage fees, moving costs, and the cost of any leasehold improvements you'll need. Finally, take a look at operating costs. Utilities, including phone, electric, gas, water, and trash pickup are concerns; also consider such costs as your computer connections, possibly satellite connections, maintenance, and general upkeep.

Related: Bursting at the Seams? Tips for Expanding Your Startup's Office Space

Facilities checklist

Use this checklist to analyze your facility's requirements.

• Initial space
• Expansion space
• Total space
• Technology requirements, including connectivity
• Proximity to the labor pool
• Proximity to suppliers
• Transportation availability
• Layout Requirements:
• Purchase/lease costs
• Brokerage costs
• Moving costs
• Improvement costs
• Operating costs

These aren't the only operations concerns of manufacturers. You should also consider your need to acquire or protect such valuable operations assets as proprietary processes and patented technologies.

Related: How to Determine How Much Real Estate Your Business Needs

For many businesses— for example, Coca-Cola with its secret soft drink formula comes to mind—intellectual property is more valuable than their sizable accumulations of plants and equipment. Investors should be warned if they must pay to acquire intellectual property. If you already have it, they will be happy to learn they'll be purchasing an interest in a valuable and protected technology.

More in Write Your Business Plan

Section 1: the foundation of a business plan, section 2: putting your business plan to work, section 3: selling your product and team, section 4: marketing your business plan, section 5: organizing operations and finances, section 6: getting your business plan to investors.

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Plant Nursery Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Plant Nursery Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their plant nursery businesses. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through a plant nursery business plan template step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What is a Plant Nursery Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your plant nursery business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategy for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan for a Plant Nursery

If you’re looking to start a plant nursery business, or grow your existing plant nursery business, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your plant nursery business in order to improve your chances of success. Your business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Plant Nursery Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a plant nursery business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings is the other most common form of funding for a plant nursery business.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

How to write a business plan for a plant nursery.

If you want to start a plant nursery business or expand your current one, you need a business plan. Below we detail what should be included in each section of your business plan:

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of plant nursery business you are operating and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a plant nursery business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of plant nursery businesses?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the plant nursery industry. Discuss the type of plant nursery business you are operating. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers. Provide a snapshot of your marketing plan. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan.  

Company Analysis

In your company analysis, you will detail the type of plant nursery business you are operating.

For example, you might operate one of the following types of plant nursery businesses:

• Houseplant Nursery : this type of plant nursery business focuses on providing a selection of popular houseplants for indoor growing.
• Landscaping Nursery: this type of nursery focuses on outdoor plants and supplies for lawn care and landscaping.
• Tree Nursery: this type of nursery specializes in providing a selection of trees for purchase.

In addition to explaining the type of plant nursery business you will operate, the Company Analysis section of your business plan needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to question such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of customers served, number of positive reviews, number of products sold etc.
• Your legal structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry analysis, you need to provide an overview of the plant nursery industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the plant nursery industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your strategy, particularly if your research identifies market trends.

The third reason for market research is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section:

• How big is the plant nursery industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential market for your plant nursery business? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: homeowners, apartment renters and landscapers.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of plant nursery business you operate. Clearly, apartment renters would respond to different marketing promotions than landscapers, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, include a discussion of the ages, genders, locations and income levels of the customers you seek to serve. Because most plant nursery businesses primarily serve customers living in their same city or town, such demographic information is easy to find on government websites.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

Finish Your Plant Nursery Business Plan in 1 Day!

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With Growthink’s Ultimate Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other plant nursery businesses.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t direct competitors. This includes landscapers and local plant swaps. You need to mention such competition as well.

With regards to direct competition, you want to describe the other plant nursery businesses with which you compete. Most likely, your direct competitors will be plant nurseries located very close to your location.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their businesses and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as:

• What types of customers do they serve?
• What types of plants do they grow and sell?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide better quality and selection of plants?
• Will you provide services that your competitors don’t offer?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.  

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a plant nursery, your marketing plan should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of plant nursery company that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific products you will be offering. For example, in addition to a plant nursery, will you provide custom landscaping services, educational programs or any other services?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your marketing plan, you are presenting the services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the location of your plant nursery company. Document your location and mention how the location will impact your success. For example, is your plant nursery located in a busy retail district or shopping plaza, or is it visible from a busy highway, etc. Discuss how your location might be the ideal location for your customers.

Promotions : The final part of your plant nursery marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertising in local papers and magazines
• Reaching out to local websites
• Social media marketing
• Local radio advertising

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your plant nursery business, including tending plants, growing or transporting plants, and helping customers.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to sell your 100th plant, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your plant nursery business to a new city.  

Management Team

To demonstrate your plant nursery business’ ability to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing plant nursery businesses. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act like mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in managing plant nurseries or successfully running small businesses.  

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statements.

Balance Sheets : Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your plant nursery business, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a plant nursery business:

• Location build-out including design fees, construction, etc.
• Cost of equipment and supplies
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Taxes and permits
• Legal expenses

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your nursery location lease, blueprints of your nursery design or an inventory list.  

Putting together a business plan for your plant nursery business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the plant nursery industry, your competition, and your customers. You will have developed a marketing plan and will really understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful plant nursery business.  

Plant Nursery Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my plant nursery business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily complete your plan.

What is the Goal of a Business Plan's Executive Summary?

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of plant nursery you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have a plant nursery that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of plant nurseries?

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your Plant Nursery business plan?

OR, Let Us Develop Your Plan For You

Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.  

Click here to see how Growthink’s professional business plan consulting services can create your business plan for you.

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The 7 Best Business Plan Examples (2024)

As an aspiring entrepreneur gearing up to start your own business , you likely know the importance of drafting a business plan. However, you might not be entirely sure where to begin or what specific details to include. That’s where examining business plan examples can be beneficial. Sample business plans serve as real-world templates to help you craft your own plan with confidence. They also provide insight into the key sections that make up a business plan, as well as demonstrate how to structure and present your ideas effectively.

Example business plan

To understand how to write a business plan, let’s study an example structured using a seven-part template. Here’s a quick overview of those parts:

• Executive summary: A quick overview of your business and the contents of your business plan.
• Company description: More info about your company, its goals and mission, and why you started it in the first place.
• Market analysis: Research about the market and industry your business will operate in, including a competitive analysis about the companies you’ll be up against.
• Products and services: A detailed description of what you’ll be selling to your customers.
• Marketing plan: A strategic outline of how you plan to market and promote your business before, during, and after your company launches into the market.
• Logistics and operations plan: An explanation of the systems, processes, and tools that are needed to run your business in the background.
• Financial plan: A map of your short-term (and even long-term) financial goals and the costs to run the business. If you’re looking for funding, this is the place to discuss your request and needs.

7 business plan examples (section by section)

In this section, you’ll find hypothetical and real-world examples of each aspect of a business plan to show you how the whole thing comes together. 

• Executive summary

Your executive summary offers a high-level overview of the rest of your business plan. You’ll want to include a brief description of your company, market research, competitor analysis, and financial information. 

In this free business plan template, the executive summary is three paragraphs and occupies nearly half the page:

• Company description

You might go more in-depth with your company description and include the following sections:

• Nature of the business. Mention the general category of business you fall under. Are you a manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer of your products?
• Background information. Talk about your past experiences and skills, and how you’ve combined them to fill in the market. 
• Business structure. This section outlines how you registered your company —as a corporation, sole proprietorship, LLC, or other business type.
• Industry. Which business sector do you operate in? The answer might be technology, merchandising, or another industry.
• Team. Whether you’re the sole full-time employee of your business or you have contractors to support your daily workflow, this is your chance to put them under the spotlight.

You can also repurpose your company description elsewhere, like on your About page, Instagram page, or other properties that ask for a boilerplate description of your business. Hair extensions brand Luxy Hair has a blurb on it’s About page that could easily be repurposed as a company description for its business plan. 

• Market analysis

Market analysis comprises research on product supply and demand, your target market, the competitive landscape, and industry trends. You might do a SWOT analysis to learn where you stand and identify market gaps that you could exploit to establish your footing. Here’s an example of a SWOT analysis for a hypothetical ecommerce business: 

You’ll also want to run a competitive analysis as part of the market analysis component of your business plan. This will show you who you’re up against and give you ideas on how to gain an edge over the competition. 

• Products and services

This part of your business plan describes your product or service, how it will be priced, and the ways it will compete against similar offerings in the market. Don’t go into too much detail here—a few lines are enough to introduce your item to the reader.

• Marketing plan

Potential investors will want to know how you’ll get the word out about your business. So it’s essential to build a marketing plan that highlights the promotion and customer acquisition strategies you’re planning to adopt. 

Most marketing plans focus on the four Ps: product, price, place, and promotion. However, it’s easier when you break it down by the different marketing channels . Mention how you intend to promote your business using blogs, email, social media, and word-of-mouth marketing. 

Here’s an example of a hypothetical marketing plan for a real estate website:

Logistics and operations

This section of your business plan provides information about your production, facilities, equipment, shipping and fulfillment, and inventory.

Financial plan

The financial plan (a.k.a. financial statement) offers a breakdown of your sales, revenue, expenses, profit, and other financial metrics. You’ll want to include all the numbers and concrete data to project your current and projected financial state.

In this business plan example, the financial statement for ecommerce brand Nature’s Candy includes forecasted revenue, expenses, and net profit in graphs.

It then goes deeper into the financials, citing:

• Funding needs
• Project cash-flow statement
• Project profit-and-loss statement
• Projected balance sheet

You can use Shopify’s financial plan template to create your own income statement, cash-flow statement, and balance sheet. 

Types of business plans (and what to write for each)

A one-page business plan is a pared down version of a standard business plan that’s easy for potential investors and partners to understand. You’ll want to include all of these sections, but make sure they’re abbreviated and summarized:

• Logistics and operations plan
• Financials 

A startup business plan is meant to secure outside funding for a new business. Typically, there’s a big focus on the financials, as well as other sections that help determine the viability of your business idea—market analysis, for example. Shopify has a great business plan template for startups that include all the below points:

• Market research: in depth
• Financials: in depth

Your internal business plan acts as the enforcer of your company’s vision. It reminds your team of the long-term objective and keeps them strategically aligned toward the same goal. Be sure to include:

• Market research

Feasibility 

A feasibility business plan is essentially a feasibility study that helps you evaluate whether your product or idea is worthy of a full business plan. Include the following sections:

A strategic (or growth) business plan lays out your long-term vision and goals. This means your predictions stretch further into the future, and you aim for greater growth and revenue. While crafting this document, you use all the parts of a usual business plan but add more to each one:

• Products and services: for launch and expansion
• Market analysis: detailed analysis
• Marketing plan: detailed strategy
• Logistics and operations plan: detailed plan
• Financials: detailed projections

Free business plan templates

Now that you’re familiar with what’s included and how to format a business plan, let’s go over a few templates you can fill out or draw inspiration from.

Bplans’ free business plan template

Bplans’ free business plan template focuses a lot on the financial side of running a business. It has many pages just for your financial plan and statements. Once you fill it out, you’ll see exactly where your business stands financially and what you need to do to keep it on track or make it better.

PandaDoc’s free business plan template

PandaDoc’s free business plan template is detailed and guides you through every section, so you don’t have to figure everything out on your own. Filling it out, you’ll grasp the ins and outs of your business and how each part fits together. It’s also handy because it connects to PandaDoc’s e-signature for easy signing, ideal for businesses with partners or a board.

Miro’s Business Model Canvas Template

Miro’s Business Model Canvas Template helps you map out the essentials of your business, like partnerships, core activities, and what makes you different. It’s a collaborative tool for you and your team to learn how everything in your business is linked.

Better business planning equals better business outcomes

Building a business plan is key to establishing a clear direction and strategy for your venture. With a solid plan in hand, you’ll know what steps to take for achieving each of your business goals. Kickstart your business planning and set yourself up for success with a defined roadmap—utilizing the sample business plans above to inform your approach.

Business plan FAQ

What are the 3 main points of a business plan.

• Concept. Explain what your business does and the main idea behind it. This is where you tell people what you plan to achieve with your business.
• Contents. Explain what you’re selling or offering. Point out who you’re selling to and who else is selling something similar. This part concerns your products or services, who will buy them, and who you’re up against.
• Cash flow. Explain how money will move in and out of your business. Discuss the money you need to start and keep the business going, the costs of running your business, and how much money you expect to make.

How do I write a simple business plan?

To create a simple business plan, start with an executive summary that details your business vision and objectives. Follow this with a concise description of your company’s structure, your market analysis, and information about your products or services. Conclude your plan with financial projections that outline your expected revenue, expenses, and profitability.

What is the best format to write a business plan?

The optimal format for a business plan arranges your plan in a clear and structured way, helping potential investors get a quick grasp of what your business is about and what you aim to achieve. Always start with a summary of your plan and finish with the financial details or any extra information at the end.

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Look Beyond the Obvious in Plant Location

• Roger W. Schmenner

When on-site expansion has become impractical, companies must decide whether to relocate or to open branches. Although the location decision may appear straightforward, if it chiefly involves financial assessments, the company faces unexpected pitfalls, according to this author. He discusses the relative advantages of relocation and new branches in light of a company’s unique problems […]

For many managers, plant location decision making merely refers to the selection of a site for a new plant, and for some the choice is straightforward: select the least costly site. Often a consultant is brought in or a management team assembled with the sole purpose of scouring the South or the Far East, Mexico or Puerto Rico, for low-wage, low-cost, low-tax sites so that plant location can contribute to “the bottom line.” This mode of thinking invites disaster, as numerous companies have found out.

• RS Mr. Schmenner is a research associate of the Harvard-MIT Joint Center for Urban Studies and is now, under a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, engaged in research on the plant location decision making of the Fortune “500” companies during the 1970s. His most recent HBR article is “Before You Build a Big Factory”(July–August 1976).

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Free Business Plan Template for Small Businesses (2024)

Use this free business plan template to write your business plan quickly and efficiently.

A good business plan is essential to successfully starting your business —  and the easiest way to simplify the work of writing a business plan is to start with a business plan template.

You’re already investing time and energy in refining your business model and planning your launch—there’s no need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to writing a business plan. Instead, to help build a complete and effective plan, lean on time-tested structures created by other  entrepreneurs and startups. 

Ahead, learn what it takes to create a solid business plan and download Shopify's free business plan template to get started on your dream today. 

What this free business plan template includes

• Executive summary
• Company overview
• Products or services offered
• Market analysis
• Marketing plan
• Logistics and operations plan
• Financial plan

This business plan outline is designed to ensure you’re thinking through all of the important facets of starting a new business. It’s intended to help new business owners and entrepreneurs consider the full scope of running a business and identify functional areas they may not have considered or where they may need to level up their skills as they grow.

That said, it may not include the specific details or structure preferred by a potential investor or lender. If your goal with a business plan is to secure funding , check with your target organizations—typically banks or investors—to see if they have business plan templates you can follow to maximize your chances of success.

Our free business plan template includes seven key elements typically found in the traditional business plan format:

1. Executive summary

This is a one-page summary of your whole plan, typically written after the rest of the plan is completed. The description section of your executive summary will also cover your management team, business objectives and strategy, and other background information about the brand. 

2. Company overview

This section of your business plan will answer two fundamental questions: “Who are you?” and “What do you plan to do?” Answering these questions clarifies why your company exists, what sets it apart from others, and why it’s a good investment opportunity. This section will detail the reasons for your business’s existence, its goals, and its guiding principles.

3. Products or services offered

What you sell and the most important features of your products or services. It also includes any plans for intellectual property, like patent filings or copyright. If you do market research for new product lines, it will show up in this section of your business plan.

4. Market analysis

This section includes everything from estimated market size to your target markets and competitive advantage. It’ll include a competitive analysis of your industry to address competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. Market research is an important part of ensuring you have a viable idea.

5. Marketing plan

How you intend to get the word out about your business, and what strategic decisions you’ve made about things like your pricing strategy. It also covers potential customers’ demographics, your sales plan, and your metrics and milestones for success.

6. Logistics and operations plan

Everything that needs to happen to turn your raw materials into products and get them into the hands of your customers.

7. Financial plan

It’s important to include a look at your financial projections, including both revenue and expense projections. This section includes templates for three key financial statements: an income statement, a balance sheet, and a cash-flow statement . You can also include whether or not you need a business loan and how much you’ll need.

Business plan examples

What do financial projections look like on paper? How do you write an executive summary? What should your company description include?  Business plan examples  can help answer some of these questions and transform your business idea into an actionable plan.

Professional business plan example

Inside our template, we’ve filled out a sample business plan featuring a fictional ecommerce business . 

The sample is set up to help you get a sense of each section and understand how they apply to the planning and evaluation stages of a business plan. If you’re looking for funding, this example won’t be a complete or formal look at business plans, but it will give you a great place to start and notes about where to expand.

Lean business plan example

A lean business plan format is a shortened version of your more detailed business plan. It’s helpful when modifying your plan for a specific audience, like investors or new hires. 

Also known as a one-page business plan, it includes only the most important, need-to-know information, such as:

• Company description
• Key members of your team
• Customer segments

💡 Tip: For a step-by-step guide to creating a lean business plan (including a sample business plan), read our guide on how to create a lean business plan .

Benefits of writing a solid business plan

It’s tempting to dive right into execution when you’re excited about a new business or side project, but taking the time to write a thorough business plan and get your thoughts on paper allows you to do a number of beneficial things:

• Test the viability of your business idea. Whether you’ve got one business idea or many, business plans can make an idea more tangible, helping you see if it’s truly viable and ensure you’ve found a target market. 
• Plan for your next phase. Whether your goal is to start a new business or scale an existing business to the next level, a business plan can help you understand what needs to happen and identify gaps to address.
• Clarify marketing strategy, goals, and tactics. Writing a business plan can show you the actionable next steps to take on a big, abstract idea. It can also help you narrow your strategy and identify clear-cut tactics that will support it.
• Scope the necessary work. Without a concrete plan, cost overruns and delays are all but certain. A business plan can help you see the full scope of work to be done and adjust your investment of time and money accordingly.
• Hire and build partnerships. When you need buy-in from potential employees and business partners, especially in the early stages of your business, a clearly written business plan is one of the best tools at your disposal. A business plan provides a refined look at your goals for the business, letting partners judge for themselves whether or not they agree with your vision.
• Secure funds. Seeking financing for your business—whether from venture capital, financial institutions, or Shopify Capital —is one of the most common reasons to create a business plan.

Why you should you use a template for a business plan

A business plan can be as informal or formal as your situation calls for, but even if you’re a fan of the back-of-the-napkin approach to planning, there are some key benefits to starting your plan from an existing outline or simple business plan template.

No blank-page paralysis

A blank page can be intimidating to even the most seasoned writers. Using an established business planning process and template can help you get past the inertia of starting your business plan, and it allows you to skip the work of building an outline from scratch. You can always adjust a template to suit your needs.

Guidance on what to include in each section

If you’ve never sat through a business class, you might never have created a SWOT analysis or financial projections. Templates that offer guidance—in plain language—about how to fill in each section can help you navigate sometimes-daunting business jargon and create a complete and effective plan.

Knowing you’ve considered every section

In some cases, you may not need to complete every section of a startup business plan template, but its initial structure shows you you’re choosing to omit a section as opposed to forgetting to include it in the first place.

Tips for creating a successful business plan

There are some high-level strategic guidelines beyond the advice included in this free business plan template that can help you write an effective, complete plan while minimizing busywork.

Understand the audience for your plan

If you’re writing a business plan for yourself in order to get clarity on your ideas and your industry as a whole, you may not need to include the same level of detail or polish you would with a business plan you want to send to potential investors. Knowing who will read your plan will help you decide how much time to spend on it.

Know your goals

Understanding the goals of your plan can help you set the right scope. If your goal is to use the plan as a roadmap for growth, you may invest more time in it than if your goal is to understand the competitive landscape of a new industry.

Take it step by step

Writing a 10- to 15-page document can feel daunting, so try to tackle one section at a time. Select a couple of sections you feel most confident writing and start there—you can start on the next few sections once those are complete. Jot down bullet-point notes in each section before you start writing to organize your thoughts and streamline the writing process.

Maximize your business planning efforts

Planning is key to the financial success of any type of business , whether you’re a startup, non-profit, or corporation.

To make sure your efforts are focused on the highest-value parts of your own business planning, like clarifying your goals, setting a strategy, and understanding the target market and competitive landscape, lean on a business plan outline to handle the structure and format for you. Even if you eventually omit sections, you’ll save yourself time and energy by starting with a framework already in place.

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Business plan template FAQ

What is the purpose of a business plan.

The purpose of your business plan is to describe a new business opportunity or an existing one. It clarifies the business strategy, marketing plan, financial forecasts, potential providers, and more information about the company.

How do I write a simple business plan?

• Choose a business plan format, such as a traditional or a one-page business plan. 
• Find a business plan template.
• Read through a business plan sample.
• Fill in the sections of your business plan.

What is the best business plan template?

If you need help writing a business plan, Shopify’s template is one of the most beginner-friendly options you’ll find. It’s comprehensive, well-written, and helps you fill out every section.

What are the 5 essential parts of a business plan?

The five essential parts of a traditional business plan include:

• Executive summary: This is a brief overview of the business plan, summarizing the key points and highlighting the main points of the plan.
• Business description: This section outlines the business concept and how it will be executed.
• Market analysis: This section provides an in-depth look at the target market and how the business will compete in the marketplace.
• Financial plan: This section details the financial projections for the business, including sales forecasts, capital requirements, and a break-even analysis.
• Management and organization: This section describes the management team and the organizational structure of the business.

Are there any free business plan templates?

There are several free templates for business plans for small business owners available online, including Shopify’s own version. Download a copy for your business.

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Use This Simple Business Plan Outline to Organize Your Plan

12 min. read

Updated April 10, 2024

When starting a business, having a well-thought-out business plan prepared is necessary for success . It helps guide your strategy and prepares you to overcome the obstacles and risks associated with entrepreneurship. In short, a business plan makes you more likely to succeed.

However, like everything in business, starting is often the hardest part. What information do you need? How in-depth should each section be? How should the plan be structured?

All good questions that you can answer by following this business plan outline. 

• What is a business plan outline?

A business plan outline is similar to most business plan templates . It lists the common sections that all business plans should include.

A traditional business plan typically includes an executive summary, an overview of your products and services, thorough market research, a competitive analysis, a marketing and sales strategy, operational and company details, financial projections, and an appendix. 

• Why is a business plan outline important?

Starting with a business plan outline helps ensure that you’re including all of the necessary information for a complete business plan. 

But, depending on what you intend to do with your plan, you may not need all of this information right away. If you’re going to speak with investors or pursue funding, then yes, you’ll need to include everything from this outline.

But, if you’re using your plan to test an idea or help run your business, you may want to opt for a one-page plan . This is a simpler and faster method that is designed to be updated and used day-to-day. 

If you’re unsure of which plan is right for you, check out our guide explaining the differences and use cases for each plan type . 

• 10 key sections in a standard business plan outline

No matter the type of business plan you create, these are the ten basic sections you should include. Be sure to download your free business plan template to start drafting your own plan as you work through this outline.

1. Executive summary

While it may appear first, it’s best to write your executive summary last. It’s a brief section that highlights the high-level points you’ve made elsewhere in your business plan.

Summarize the problem you are solving for customers, your solution, the target market, your team that’s building the business, and financial forecast highlights. Keep things as brief as possible and entice your audience to learn more about your company. 

Keep in mind, this is the first impression your plan and business will make. After looking over your executive summary, your reader is either going to throw your business plan away or keep reading. So make sure you spend the time to get it just right.

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2. Products and services

Start the products and services section of your business plan by describing the problem you are solving for your customer. Next, describe how you solve that problem with your product or service. 

If you’ve already made some headway selling your solution, detail that progress here—this is called “traction”. You can also describe any intellectual property or patents that you have if that’s an important part of your business.

3. Market analysis 

You need to know your target market —the types of customers you are looking for—and how it’s changing.

Use the market analysis section of your business plan to discuss the size of your market—how many potential customers exist for your business—and if your potential customers can be segmented into different groups, such as age groups or some other demographic.

4. Competition

Describe your competition in this section. If you don’t have any direct competitors, describe what your customers currently do to solve the problem that your product fixes. 

If you have direct competition, detail what your strengths and weaknesses are in comparison, and how you’ll differentiate from what is already available. 

5. Marketing and sales

Use this business plan section to outline your marketing and sales plan —how you’ll reach your target customers and what the process will be for selling to them.

You’ll want to cover your market position, marketing activities, sales channels, and your pricing strategy. This will likely evolve over time, but it’s best to include anything that clearly details how you will sell and promote your products and services. 

6. Operations

What’s included in the operations section really depends on the type of business you are planning for. If your business has a physical location or other facilities, you’ll want to describe them here. If your business relies heavily on technology or specific equipment or tools, you should describe that technology or equipment here.

You can also use this section to describe your supply chain if that’s an important aspect of your business. 

7. Milestones and metrics

In a business, milestones are important goals that you are setting for your business. They may be important launch dates, or a timeline of when you’ll get regulatory approval—if that’s something you need for your business. Use this section of your plan to describe those milestones and the roadmap you are planning to follow.

You can also describe important metrics for your business, such as the number of sales leads you expect to get each month or the percentage of leads that will become customers.

8. Company overview and team

The company and team section of your plan is an overview of who you are.

It should describe the organization of your business, and the key members of the management team. It should also provide any historical background about your business. For example, you’ll describe when your company was founded, who the owners are, what state your company is registered in and where you do business, and when/if your company was incorporated.

Be sure to include summaries of your key team members’ backgrounds and experience—these should act like brief resumes—and describe their functions with the company. You should also include any professional gaps you intend to fill with new employees.

9. Financial plan and forecasts

Your financial plan should include a sales forecast, profit and loss, cash flow projections, and balance sheet, along with a brief description of the assumptions you’re making with your projections.

If you are raising money or taking out loans, you should highlight the money you need to launch the business. This part should also include a use of funds report—basically an overview of how the funding will be used in business operations. 

And while it’s not required, it may be wise to briefly mention your exit strategy . This doesn’t need to be overly detailed, just a general idea of how you may eventually want to exit your business. 

10. Appendix

The end of your business plan should include any additional information to back up specific elements of your plan. More detailed financial statements, resumes for your management team, patent documentation, credit histories, marketing examples, etc. 

• Detailed business plan outline

If you’re looking for greater insight into what goes into specific planning sections, check out the following outline for a business plan. It can help you develop a detailed business plan or provide guidance as to what may be missing from your current plan. 

Keep in mind that every business plan will look a bit different because every business is unique. After all, business planning is to help you be more successful, so focus on the sections that are most beneficial to your business and skip the sections that aren’t useful or don’t apply. 

To help, we’ve marked sections that are truly optional with an *.

Executive summary

Company purpose / mission statement.

A very brief description of what your business does and/or what its mission is.

Problem We Solve

A summary of the problem you are solving and an identifiable need in the market you are filling.

Our Solution

A description of the product or service you will provide to solve the problem.

Target Market

A defined customer base who will most likely purchase the product or service.

Briefly describe who is behind the business.

Financial Summary

A short overview of revenue goals and profitability timeline.

If you’ve already started selling your product or service, highlight important initial details here.

Funding Needed*

If you are raising money for your business, describe how much capital you need.

Products & Services

Problem worth solving.

A thorough description of the problem or pain points you intend to solve for your customer base. 

A thorough description of your proposed product or service that alleviates the problem for your customer base.

Describe any initial evidence that your customers are excited to spend money on your solution. Initial sales or signed contracts are good signs.

Intellectual Property/Patents*

If this is important for your business, outline it here.

Regulatory Requirements*

If government approval is required for your business, explain the details and timeline.

Future Products and Services*

What products and services might you offer in the future once your initial products and services are successful?

Market Size & Segments

How many potential customers do you have and what potential groups of customers are separated by specific characteristics?

Market Trends*

How consumers in your target market tend to act including purchasing habits, financial trends, and any other relevant factors.

Market Growth*

The perceived potential increase or decrease in the size of your target market.

Industry Analysis*

If your industry is changing or adjusting over time, describe those changes.

Key Customers*

If your business relies on certain important customers, describe who they are here.

Future Markets*

A snapshot of the potential market based on the last few sections and how your business strategy works within it.

Competition 

Current alternatives.

A list of potential competitors. Identifying the competition isn’t always obvious and it may take some digging on your part.

Our Advantages

The strategic advantage(s) that makes your target market more likely to choose you over the competition. 

Barriers to Entry*

If there’s anything that makes it more difficult for other people to start competing with you, describe those barriers.

Marketing & Sales

Market positioning.

Where do your products or services fit into the market? Are you the low-price leader or the premium option?

Unique value proposition*

What’s special about your offering that makes your customers want to choose it over the competition.

Marketing Plan

An outline of your marketing and advertising strategy including costs, advertising channels, and goals.

How do you sell your product or service? Self-serve or with a team of sales representatives?

Pricing Strategy*

Describe your pricing and how it compares to alternatives in the market.

Distribution*

Describe how your product gets in front of customers. Are you selling in stores and online? Which retailers?

SWOT Analysis*

Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Location & Facilities

If you have a physical presence, describe where and what it is.

What technology is crucial for your business success?

Equipment & Tools

If special equipment or tools are needed for your business, describe them here.

Sourcing and fulfillment*

If you purchase your products or parts for your products from somewhere else, describe that sourcing and supply chain.

Partners and Resources*

If you have key partners that you work with to make your business a success, describe who they are and what services or products they provide.

Milestones and metrics

A detailed roadmap of specific goals and objectives you plan to achieve will help you manage and steer your business.

Key metrics

Performance measurements that help you gauge the overall performance and health of your business.

Company overview and team

Organizational structure.

An overview of the legal structure of your business. 

Company history and ownership

A summary of your company’s history and how it relates to planning your business.

Management team

The team that is starting or running your business and why they are uniquely qualified to make the business a success.

Management team gaps

Key positions that your business will need to fill to make it successful.

Financial plan and forecast

Projected profit and loss.

How much money you will bring in by selling products and/or services and how much profit you will make or lose after accounting for costs and expenses.

Projected cash flow

How and when cash moves in and out of your business. This also includes your overall cash position.

Projected balance sheet

Expected balances for business assets, liabilities, and equity.

Use of funds

If you are raising money either through loans or investment, explain how funds will be used. This is typically meant to be shared with investors or lenders.

Exit strategy

A brief explanation of how you intend to eventually exit from your business. This could include selling the business, going public, transitioning the business to a family member/employee, etc.

A repository for any additional information, including charts and graphs, to support your business plan.

Business plan outline FAQ

How do you organize your business plan?

There’s no real established order to business plans, aside from keeping the Executive Summary at the top. As long as you have all of the main business plan components, then the order should reflect your goals. 

If this is meant solely for your personal use, lay it out as a roadmap with similar sections grouped together for easy reference. If you’re pitching this to potential investors, lead with the stronger sections to emphasize the pitch. Then if you’re unsure of what order makes sense, then just stick to the outline in this article.

Should you include tables and charts in your business plan?

Every business plan should include bar charts and pie charts to illustrate the numbers. It’s a simple way for you, your team, and investors to visualize and digest complex financial information.

Cash flow is the single most important numerical analysis in a business plan, and a standard cash flow statement or table should never be missing. Most standard business plans also include a sales forecast and income statement (also called profit and loss), and a balance sheet.

How long should your business plan be?

There’s no perfect length for a business plan. A traditional business plan can be anywhere from 10 to 50 pages long depending on how much detail you include in each section. However, as we said before unless you intend to pursue funding, you likely don’t need a lengthy business plan at first.

Tim Berry is the founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software , a co-founder of Borland International, and a recognized expert in business planning. He has an MBA from Stanford and degrees with honors from the University of Oregon and the University of Notre Dame. Today, Tim dedicates most of his time to blogging, teaching and evangelizing for business planning.

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Make a plan today. Your family may not be together if a disaster strikes, so it is important to know which types of disasters could affect your area. Know how you’ll contact one another and reconnect if separated. Establish a family meeting place that’s familiar and easy to find.

Step 1: Put a plan together by discussing the questions below with your family, friends or household to start your emergency plan.

• How will I receive emergency alerts and warnings ?
• What is my shelter plan?
• What is my evacuation route?
• What is my family/household communication plan ?
• Do I need to update my emergency preparedness kit ?

Step 2:  Consider specific needs in your household.

As you prepare your plan tailor your plans and supplies to your specific daily living needs and responsibilities. Discuss your needs and responsibilities and how people in the network can assist each other with communication, care of children, business, pets or specific needs like operating medical equipment. Create your own personal network for specific areas where you need assistance. Keep in mind some these factors when developing your plan:

• Different ages of members within your household
• Responsibilities for assisting others
• Locations frequented
• Dietary needs
• Medical needs including prescriptions and equipment
• Disabilities or access and functional needs including devices and equipment
• Languages spoken
• Cultural and religious considerations
• Pets or service animals
• Households with school-aged children

Step 3: Create a Family Emergency Plan

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Step 4: Practice your plan with your family/household

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Know Your Alerts and Warnings in English or

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12 Ways to Prepare in English or

Document and Insure Your Property in English or

Safeguard Critical Documents and Valuables in English

or Additional Languages

Additional Content

• FEMA Online Ordering Site
• Emergency Plan for Commuters (PDF)
• Pet Owners (PDF)
• Safeguard Documents and Valuables (PDF)
• Emergency Financial First Aid Kit (PDF)
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Disaster Checklist (PDF)
• Make a Plan (Video)

Last Updated: 04/19/2024

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Manage your interactions with the R&D Tax Incentive program.

• Business plans

Develop your marketing plan

On this page

Why you need a marketing plan

Download our marketing plan template.

Having a marketing plan can help you to:

• identify your target market and how your product or service can benefit it
• identify how you might attract new customers
• encourage your existing customers to continue purchasing your product or service
• set goals and time frames for your marketing activities
• map out a strategy to reach your target audience, including the messages, channels and tools you’ll use
• evaluate your marketing activities
• provide a marketing budget and see your return on investment.

Our marketing plan template helps you identify who your customers are, how you'll meet their needs and what marketing tactics you might undertake.

Marketing plan template

Our template steps you through the process of developing a succession plan with links to extra information if you need it.

You may want to check our tips below before you start.

1. Analyse your market

Market research can help you to understand your strengths, weaknesses and the opportunities that you can take advantage of. Analysing your own business and your competition can help you identify where you're positioned in the market.

It’s important to analyse your competition to identify their strengths and weaknesses. This can help you refine your marketing strategy and what's unique about your business.

A strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis can help you determine where your business fits within the market and your unique selling point. Use it to help identify what your business is doing well and how you can improve.

Identifying and understanding your customers is an essential part of your marketing plan. Not everyone is your potential buyer, so it’s important to have a clear understanding of your target market early on.

Identify your target market, competitors and potential customers .

2. Set your goals and objectives

Once you're clear about your business and its positioning, you can start thinking about what you want to achieve. Think about your main business goals, whether it's the size of your business, expansion plans or desired sales. Set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound (SMART) goals to increase your chances of success in achieving them.

3. Outline your marketing strategies

Once you’ve set some goals, consider what marketing activity, process or price will help you achieve them.

Try and choose marketing activities that suit your business and your customers. For example, if you want to target young adults, newspaper advertising may not be as effective as a social media campaign.

Choosing multiple activities that complement each other is a good way to help you get your message across. For example, if you're trying to establish a new product in the market, you may choose to advertise on the local radio, as well as setting up  social media channels  and introducing a low-cost pricing strategy for first-time buyers. When used together, these strategies complement each other and help you reach a broader market.

4. Set your marketing budget

Knowing how much you have to spend on marketing and how to spend it is critical to the success of your business. A marketing budget will ensure you accurately calculate your marketing campaign or advertising.

When developing your marketing budget, make sure you're only spending money on the activities that contribute to your current marketing goals. Advertising and promotion can be expensive. Make sure to pick options that will give you the best value while still reaching your target customers.

5. Keep your marketing plan up-to-date

It's important to evaluate your marketing activities. Analysing your results and being aware of new marketing trends is important to keeping your marketing plan up-to-date and reaching your business goals. You should tweak and change your plan as your business and market grow and change.

Find out the different types of advertising.

Read about business marketing to help position your business within your market., read about product labelling and how to label your products., was this page helpful, thanks for sharing your feedback with us..

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2024 Planting Calendar: When to Plant Vegetables

Enter your zip code or postal code above..

The 2024 gardening calendar tells you the ideal times WHEN TO PLANT vegetables, fruit, and herbs in your area. The chart lists:

• The SPRING planting dates
• The FALL planting dates

While you don't have to plant the very first date available, you don't want to wait too long, or you won't get your crops matured and harvested before the first fall/winter frost. (Usually, the "Days to Harvest" are present on the seed packets, but you need to add in time for picking.)

Having more weeks to grow means that you can plant some crops more than once. For example, lettuce grows quickly and can be planted every week or two for a long time, especially as you change varieties for higher bolt resistance.

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