Even a promising company can end up in a bad way if we don’t plan its location properly. The right operating conditions are one thing, and in the case of a transport base, the place itself may be crucial. The list of factors we should take into account when choosing the location is quite long.
Costs in freight transport are influenced by factors such as the distance of transport, the transportability of the cargo, the type of branch and means of transport, the degree of use of the means of transport, the volume of transport work and the size of the transport company. All these factors should be taken into consideration when choosing the location. The first thing that should be of interest to the future user is the location of a particular plot of land. It is important where the base will be located because the place will determine its ease of use or, on the contrary, its difficulty, which will translate into lower efficiency. It is obvious that the distance of the cargo transport has a huge impact on the efficiency of the transport work. It is worth quoting the opinion of dr hab. Adam Redmer, from the Department of Transport Systems of the Poznań University of Technology presented in our website.
The factors shaping the price for the performed transport work (LTL) include the distance of a given load or the workload of a transport task measured in tonne-kilometres (performed transport work)”, said Adam Redmer.
The closer the important routes, the easier it is to get to them, the better. It will also be important to get to the plot itself, if there is anything on the road to the plot that will hinder access, e.g. a railroad crossing that could stop traffic.
Shape and access to the plot
Another important parameter is the proper access to the plot itself. Both entry and exit should be comfortable, taking into account the size of your vehicles, at least hardened, and preferably asphalted. They should also allow free manoeuvring of large trucks. The shape of the plot is also important from the point of view of operating comfort. Generally speaking, it is about ease of space development, the square or rectangular shape is the most advantageous. This also applies to the size of the car park, which must take into account not only how many cars will be on the car park, but also how much rotation volume will the vehicles bring. Practice shows that the administrative and office part of transport bases occupies only a relatively small part, the key elements are precisely those related to the direct handling of vehicles. The shape and development of the plot must take into account the scope of tasks that will be performed: whether it will be run loading and unloading whether other means of transport, e.g. forklift trucks, will move around the area apart from cars. It is crucial to be able to designate collision-free „corridors”.
The property for the base should be scalable
From the point of view of the future, the possibility of expanding the base is important. It is worth remembering this already at the moment of plot selection. This usually means selecting a plot of land at least about 20-30% larger than current needs. Just to give yourself a chance to scale up your business. It is important to plan an appropriate fence for the plot, or to adapt the existing one to your own needs. And you can’t just ignore what’s already on the plot. The functioning infrastructure, connections, media are important as well. The transport company and its base are usually also warehouses, scales, car workshops with garage pits, office buildings, etc. It must not be forgotten that in every case the plot must allow for an adequate „technological chain”. The neighbourhood is also worth noticing. Many investors try to build in places where there are special investment and operating conditions. These include special economic zones. For some time now, a new law has been in force for special economic zones: tax breaks can be sought throughout the country, anywhere. – The extension of the economic zones to the whole area of Poland is quite important from the perspective of companies whose main activity is production. In the case of the logistics industry, the new situation may create further local markets, which are currently the backbone of large urban centres and may lead to their complementarity with centres that are important for the supply chain. “Therefore, the changes in the SEZ Act should create more opportunities than threats, giving perspectives not only to investors but also to local governments as well,” says Marek Foryński, managing director of BTS Group in Panattoni Europe.
Image: Bartosz Wawryszuk