SUPPLY CHAIN DECISION-MAKING PROCESS - IMPACT OF LOCATION FACTORS

Facility location and its interconnection with other facilities in the supply chain is a strategic decision for each company. The selection of the optimal facility location and customer's allocation to that has a long-term impact on the company's competitiveness. Since there may not be many differences among product functions, product availability and associated logistic services play a key role in customers' perceptions. Competition has shifted from company to company to a battle between supply chains. The aim of this study is to outline the importance of other factors than cost, which are commonly involved in the facility location problem. Authors focus on qualitative and quantitative criteria used in context of supply chain design. The paper is based on questionnaire conducted among manufacturing and business companies of all sizes falling into one of the following sectors: automotive, toys, clothing industry, electronics and pharmaceutical industry. Comparison of which criteria prevail in the current research and which are considered relevant by companies is made. The results confirm that costs are an important factor, but other factors e.g. quality of infrastructure, quality of working environment, availability of properly skilled labour and future development expectations are as important as costs for Czech companies.