A disciplined process for a high-impact location decision.
Every project is adapted to the client’s operating requirements, geography, schedule, and internal decision process. GCA makes assumptions visible, alternatives comparable, responsibilities clear, and unresolved risks easy to identify.
This is the heart of the engagement: six phases, each ending in a decision you make with full information — never a black box.
The six-phase process
Agree on what is being decided, by whom, and by when.
What we ask
- Business objective and constraints
- Stakeholders and decision authority
- Internal approval process
What we test
- Scope and geography boundaries
- Schedule realism
What you decide
- Project charter and governance
- Decision calendar
In practiceYour leadership agrees on the decision calendar before any market is touched — scope cannot drift.
Translate the business plan into measurable site criteria.
What we ask
- Workforce, utility, and freight requirements
- Facility type, size, and expansion needs
What we test
- Minimum thresholds and priorities
- Assumptions and their sources
What you decide
- Approved criteria and weighting
- Initial geographic scope
In practiceYour CFO sees the criteria and the weighting before anything is scored — no black-box ranking.
Focus detailed analysis on viable locations.
What we ask
- What disqualifies a market outright
What we test
- Constraints, risks, and comparative findings
What you decide
- The preliminary short list
In practiceYou never pay for deep diligence on a market that a power or workforce threshold already disqualified.
Test the strongest alternatives in detail.
What we ask
- What must be true for each finalist
What we test
- Utilities, labor shed, due diligence, and economics
What you decide
- Final short list and recommendation
In practiceUtility capacity is confirmed with the provider in writing — never taken from a marketing flyer.
Use the analysis to guide the lease or acquisition.
What we ask
- Which alternatives stay credible
What we test
- Financial and nonfinancial terms, side by side
What you decide
- The letter of intent and business terms
In practiceYou walk into the letter of intent with live alternatives — the landlord knows you can leave.
Carry the decision through documentation and implementation.
What we ask
- What implementation requires, and in what order
What we test
- Open issues, responsibilities, and deadlines
What you decide
- Acceptance and handoff priorities
In practiceThe handoff ends when the facility is operational — not when a document is signed.
Site selection
Shortlist and tour sites against the brief
LOI and terms
Structure the economics and key terms
Due diligence
Title, zoning, utilities, environmental
Negotiate and close
Lease or purchase, signed — with counsel and licensed brokers
Delivery
Build-to-suit and EPC coordination through occupancy
Project governance
A corporate buyer committing capital behind a location decision should know exactly who is accountable, what each checkpoint delivers, and what arrives in writing.
One accountable lead
A clearly identified GCA lead owns analysis, recommendations, coordination, and client communication for the life of the project.
Scheduled checkpoints
Working sessions on a decision calendar you approve — each phase ends in a documented decision, not a drifting status call.
Everything in writing
Findings, assumptions, recommendations, and open issues are documented as they land — the record is the project.
Assumptions and data discipline
Every figure carries its source and its date. Assumptions are logged, versioned, and surfaced at every decision gate — when one changes, you see what moved and why. Nothing in the recommendation rests on a number you have not seen.
- Number of geographies under evaluation
- Facility complexity and build scope
- Utility diligence depth — interconnection and capacity confirmation
- Property availability in the finalist markets
- Transaction complexity — lease, purchase, or build-to-suit
- Your internal approval and decision cadence
Project scope and timing depend on geography, facility requirements, property availability, data availability, utility and due diligence needs, transaction complexity, and the client’s decision process.
- Client-defined requirements
- Transparent assumptions
- Comparable information
- Operating quality and cost evaluated separately
- Risks assigned to the appropriate qualified professional
- Clear documentation of recommendations and open issues