W hen they turn their attention to the Internet, corporate real estate departments have been mainly concerned with improving communications, customer service applications and Web site development. But a Corporate Real Estate Technology Benchmaking Survey conducted in August 2001 by Ernst & Young (E&Y) and the National Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives (NACORE) suggests […]
Eastern Europe is the main beneficiary of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Europe’s automotive sector, according to analysis from PricewaterhouseCoopers-Plant Location International (PwC-PLI), Brussels, developer of the Global Investment Location Database (GILD). “In terms of greenfield FDI projects in the automotive sector, non-European Union (EU) countries have attracted 3.5 times more projects than EU […]
What’s the big news in the European automotive industry? BMW, the Munich-based automaker, plans to produce 650 BMW 3-series autos each day beginning in 2005 at its newly announced US$860 million, 2,500-employee plant in Leipzig. BMW Chairman Joachim Milberg says that choosing the location “wasn’t an easy decision.” The year-long search […]
T he American dream came to Europe and created its teenage information technology (IT) millionaires. Up went property prices, property availability and the cost of hiring. Europe had its very own IT hot spots. Next came dot.com gloom: tech stock exchanges were on their knees, and the hot spots turned warm. But silver linings are […]
T he Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “flexible” as something that is “characterized by a ready capability to adapt to new, different, or changing requirements.” Many real estate strategists and planners consider it to be the word that best describes the concept of corporate campuses. In a discussion on campuses, it also translates into smart design, operational […]
A n increasingly sophisticated body of theory and practice has emerged over the past 20 years among those working to define the role of real estate in enhancing corporate business strategy. The discussion has covered many levels, from on- and off-site workplace concepts, to overall site and facility guidelines, to the planning and management of […]
W hen it comes time to deliver on a pledge to go the extra mile, service providers have lots of options, depending on the assignment and the nature of the client relationship. One that rarely gets much serious consideration is to simply give the service away. After all, service providers in the business world exist […]
A textbook case of a corporate real estate service provider meeting — and exceeding — client expectations might well resemble work that the Atlanta-based Walker Companies recently completed for Continental General Tire (CGT) Co. The Walker Companies (www.walkerco.com), a provider of real estate management, location consulting and development services, is a 2001 recipient of the […]
N ow in their third year, the Site Selection/William Dorsey Service Provider Awards are emerging as an important industry tool in the area of corporate real estate problem solving. The awards recognize excellence in client service, which ultimately means doing more than the client expected and delivering value that was not contracted for in the […]
M oney talks, or so they say. So the US$315 million and 18 investments Portugal attracted in a one-month time frame (July 2001) certainly speak volumes about the country’s appeal as a business location. The fact that these investments came from major U.S., European and Asian companies only reinforces the idea that Portugal is a […]
Survey: Efficiency Issues Challenge Lenders’ Profitability Mortgage lenders’ profitability – already on shaky ground – is being jeopardized by inefficiency and insufficient use of technology, according to a recent survey conducted by Ernst & Young’s Real Estate Advisory Services Group. The survey was sponsored by CapitalThinking, a financial services technology firm. Ten of the largest […]
W hen a company finds success, they tend to run with it. Such is the case with Xerox’s Canadian call center operations. The firm already has operations in Saint John, New Brunswick, and announced in September 2001 a new center to be located in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The site will initially employ 150 full-time workers […]
L ooking for labor is usually the first job of any call center. Jeff Furst of FurstPerson, a Chicago-based call center solutions company, looks to fill that need by tailoring labor searches and finding, hiring and keeping the right people for customer contact centers. FurstPerson acts as an on-site recruiting firm and concentrates in creating […]
Kevin Falcon T he lack of running with scissors wide open may be even more dangerous than the alternative for British Columbia (BC), despite what mothers may warn. The gnarled mess of red tape that makes up BC’s regulatory process is seen by many as the reason for the province’s decline as a business location. […]
“E merging Trends this year is relatively positive,” said Marshall Woodward, head or real estate operations for Lend Lease, at the Atlanta revealing of the 23rd annual Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2002 report. “I have to underscore the word relatively, though. The real estate industry does have its challenges here in Atlanta and across […]
T he maxim used as a headline here is worth thinking about carefully the next time you prepare to sign a service provider contract, no matter how it’s structured. The agreement you commit to will be the starting point of any number of business scenarios, and how you and your service provider relate at the […]
Abstracts of major presentations of the International Development Research Council, the world’s pre-eminent corporate real estate association. “Disposition Strategies for Surplus Property in the Economic Downturn,” Texas World Congress, Oct. 23, 2001: “What every corporate real estate department needs to realize in this economic downturn is that every asset has a […]
