Proximity to competitors: - most service providers will
prefer to locate where competition is minimised.
Nature of business activity:
services -> will have to choose a location
considering the ease of access and parking
facilities.
office - based businesses -> if large numbers of
people employed -> make sure there is
restaurants, cafes, etc nearby. they have to
consider employees and customers, where they
are find the most. locating in a very famous area
will improve business's profile, however costs will
be high.
manufacturing & processing -> the location chose
by manufacturers may vary.
agriculture -> most farmers require large areas of
land, however everyone, it depends.
Impact of the internet on location decisions:
The development of online businesses means
that many entrepreneurs have a lot more flexibility
when choosing a location.
They can work from anywhere they have internet,
and so no need for fixed premises.
Influence of legal controls & trade blocs on
location: governments may try to influence business
location to:
to avoid congestion where there is already
enough or too much development.
minimise the impact businesses might have on
local communities.
to encourage manufacturers to locate where
unemployment is high
government often use financial incentives to
influence.
attract foreign manufacturers into the country.
Proximity to market:
businesses that make large or heavy roducts may be
located close to their customers to keep transport costs
down.
Many service providers have to locate their premises close
to their markets, because many services are sold direct to
consumers.
Proximity to labour:
Factors affecting location businesses needing large numbers of workers have to
consider wage costs and labour skills -> which may very in
different regions.
Proximity to materials:
businesses that use large amounts of raw materials that
are difficult to transport may choose to locate their
premises very close to their sources.
some businesses (such as manufacturers or large
supermarkets) require large lands to locate buildings, staff
car parks and other facilities -> therefore they look to
minimise land and property costs, for example, they may
set up where:
- premises are cheap
- business rates are low
- land has been allocated for
business development such as brownfiled
sites - *areas of land taht were once
Decisions on Location used for urban development* or green
field sites - * previously undeveloped
areas of land, usually on the outskirts
of towns and cities.*
Trade blocs: - group of countries situated in the
same region that join together and enjoy trade free
of barriers.
Many countries use trade barriers (such as tarrifs
- a tax on imports which makes them more
expensive) to control the level of imports into the
country.
A business might decide to locate inside a trade
bloc (such as the African Union) -> this will allow
trading from from trade barriers when selling its
products to any member of that trade bloc.