Before you start tackling the technical and logistical aspects of your industrial relocation, it helps to have a roadmap. Whether you're moving across town or state lines, every successful transition starts with careful planning and the right team in your corner.
At Alliance Moving & Storage, we specialize in helping manufacturers move their operations smoothly and efficiently — from early planning through final setup.
#1. Evaluate If Relocation Makes Sense
Before diving into logistics, take a moment to evaluate whether relocation is the right strategic move. It may not be the best option for all companies. Consider factors like cost reduction, expansion potential, real estate conditions, supply chain accessibility, and workforce availability.
It’s worth taking the time to reflect on your company’s goals and challenges before committing to a big move. Discuss the idea with executive leadership, and if needed, engage an outside consultant to help with feasibility.
Why Relocating Your Manufacturing Plant Can Be a Smart Move
Here are some of the main advantages companies can gain from a well-executed plant relocation:
- Streamlined operations: A new facility provides a clean slate to design a more efficient layout and modernize your workflow, helping reduce bottlenecks and increase output.
- Room to grow: Expanding into a larger space means you can add more machinery, scale production lines, and meet growing demand with fewer limitations.
- Closer to customers: Being geographically closer to your key markets can lower shipping costs and shorten delivery times, which boosts customer satisfaction.
- Stronger talent pool: Relocating to an area with a skilled labor force makes it easier to hire and retain qualified employees who support long-term growth.
- Improved infrastructure: Moving to a site with better access to transportation hubs, like highways or freight terminals, can make logistics faster and more cost-effective.
- Incentives and savings: Many regions offer tax benefits, relocation grants, or utility discounts to attract manufacturers, savings that can lessen upfront moving costs.
- Lower operating costs: Shifting to an area with more affordable rent, utilities, or property taxes can reduce monthly expenses and improve your bottom line.
With the right preparation and trusted relocation partners, a plant move isn’t just doable — it can be a launchpad for your next phase of business success.
#2. Define Your Relocation Goals
Set clear goals for your relocation. Are you aiming for more space, lower costs, improved logistics, or something else? These goals will guide the layout, resource allocation, and even the timeline of your move. It helps to prioritize your objectives — some companies focus on reducing lead times, while others aim to modernize processes or create a safer work environment. Your priorities should be front and center throughout the planning and execution stages.
#3. Start Planning Well Before the Move
You’ll want to give yourself as much time as you can to plan for your move. It’s typical to run up against time constraints, but the more time you have to plan and assess risks, the more successful your move will likely be. This can be tricky if you need to keep up with production, so consider using a project management tool.
#4. Find Out Everything About the Target Relocation Place
As part of your planning process, you’ll want to put energy into your target relocation. There are some manufacturers who want to expand their existing facilities and maintain their current workforce. Others might be looking for operational, fiscal, or logistical incentives by packing up shop and relocating to a different city or region. How close you are to your vendors and customer base can lessen the cost of transportation.
If you’re worried about how the move and potential downtime will impact your business, you’ll want to get in touch with legal, accounting, or consulting experts who can give you realistic answers to these lingering questions while taking into consideration your operational commitments.
#5. Choose Your Team of Responsibles
As part of your new manufacturing facility checklist, don’t forget to assemble a capable team that can execute different parts of your move. For example, you’ll want to identify a team of people who can design the new shop floor layout and gather contractors who can build facilities to your specifications. Don’t forget to assemble teams to oversee the safety of the move, in addition to an HR team and union reps.
Don’t shy away from engaging with your staff during this process. After all, factory relocations can have a large impact on their lives. The sooner you involve them, the sooner you are able to address potential issues that they might have.
#6. Assign Key Decision-Makers
Beyond assembling your team, assign key point people as representatives for different phases — logistics, communication, vendor coordination, and safety oversight. These representatives should be empowered to make decisions and report progress regularly. Define their roles and expectations in writing, so everyone involved knows who is responsible for what. Strong leadership at each level will help reduce confusion and speed up execution.
#7. Prepare the Layout Drawings
A verbal plan can only go so far. You’ll want to make sure that you have accurate drawings of both your current and future factory space. Although they may not seem essential, these drawings will most likely become pivotal tools for your contractors and your team. All drawings should be verified by eye if possible.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
- The location of the columns
- Pits
- Trenches
- Aisles
- The quantity of your equipment in addition to identification and sizes
- Overhead equipment
Manually checking your drawings is also helpful in surfacing things that you have already grown accustomed to that need to be factored into your move.
#8. Audit the Machinery
Always look over the condition of your equipment and document it in a safe location. Some manufacturers are surprised that some machinery that they have isn’t in the condition that they originally thought. It’s best to make any decisions about equipment relocation, refurbishing, or abandoning before you move forward with the packing and organizing process.
One way to improve this process is by giving each item a unique asset tag. If you record everything against that tag, you can help your team find the information they need to ensure they’re working with the right machine. It’s also helpful in tracking items to make sure they arrive as they should.
#9. Put Up the List of Resources
Another key to relocating manufacturing facilities is resource and equipment management. For example, consider putting together an equipment ID that has requirements for mechanical, environmental, material handling, and foundational needs. Putting this information into a digital library makes it easy for key stakeholders to access this information.
All design engineers and contractors should be involved in both the design and the relocation to your new facility. Feel free to include these documents in the contract documents to help preserve the project schedule and budget while simultaneously promoting the overall success of the project.
#10. Review the Supply Chain
Don’t forget to factor in the supply chain and how your move will impact it! Even if you experience a move that goes off without a hitch, there will still be changes to the way that you supply products and how products are supplied to you. Factor in any issues that could impact your installation timeline or any delays that your new supplies could cause.
#11. Create a Moving Schedule
Create a schedule that helps you meet your goals. For example, maybe you need the ability to maintain at least partial production at your existing site during the move. Even though it’s possible to complete a factory move without downtime, a schedule is key to making this happen.
#12. Keep Everyone Aligned on Timing
Once the schedule is made, keep all departments informed of deadlines, blackout periods, and phased move dates. Hold update meetings and post timelines in shared workspaces, so there’s no confusion about timing. Good communication during this stage will reduce stress and prevent scheduling mishaps.
#13. Prepare Detailed Work Instructions
Moving a factory successfully requires a significant amount of detail. Make sure to explain how each piece of equipment will be disconnected, cleaned, packaged, loaded, protected in transit, unloaded, reconnected, and ultimately restarted. The same could be said for your site once you’ve moved your machines.
Creating these instructions can also help outline your requirements. For example, maybe you need customized packaging for your machines for transportation, or maybe wooden crates are sufficient. You can assign a team member to review the installation instructions to make sure the machines are properly connected before turning them on.
#14. Call Alliance Moving & Storage for Your Industrial Facility Relocation!
Last but certainly not least, you’ll want a trusted and hardworking moving company on your side. Our team of Chicago area warehouse movers is only a phone call away, and we’re ready to assist you with your manufacturing move. Our experience allows us to plan one step ahead and make sure that your move is efficient and successful. For additional information on our services or to get a free quote, we encourage you to get in touch with us today!
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