Anyone who has been involved in a site selection knows there is much more to the process than evaluating available buildings and sites. As an economic developer, you are keenly aware of the multitude of stages in the process and the complexity of the negotiations. The SSN has teamed up with DEALTEK^®, Ltd., a technology-driven development, expansion and location consulting firm, in order to help NAM members conduct every stage of the search process quickly and cost-effectively. NAM members receive this service at special preferred member rates.

DEALTEK’s professionals can begin working with the NAM member as soon as it knows some type of location change is in its future. Through meetings with the company’s executives, DEALTEK^® will help the manufacturer define its business priorities and determine what type of move, if any, is necessary. DEALTEK’s professionals can forecast the different outcomes of the capital-investment alternatives, whether it is relocation, expansion or some other change in operations.

Once the type of move is determined and the company’s criteria are established, DEALTEK^® helps the NAM member define the search parameters the SSN needs, in order to gather information on potential sites. The SSN then issues a request for proposals from you, our SSN members, based on the company’s search requirements.

When the manufacturer receives the SSN report containing the community information, DEALTEK’s professionals can help the manufacturer analyze the data using DEALTEK’s proprietary software technology, Expert DEALS (Development, Expansion and Location Solutions). With Expert DEALS, the manufacturer can model the bottom-line results of the choices the SSN has presented. If close proximity to a three-lane highway is more important to the company than utility costs, but less critical than wage rates, DEALTEK’s software can distill and compare the information from the SSN report to find the best location and site for the manufacturer based on the company’s particular needs and preferences.

Expert DEALS adds a major twist to traditional site and location analysis. The software has the ability to assign values to the relative importance of the company’s decisive factors. These likely will include objective, or "hard criteria", such as project budget and schedule, the costs of doing business in a location (including tax, utility, logistics and labor costs) and the infrastructure’s specifications. The company also will have subjective, or "soft", criteria, such as preferred business climate, workforce quality, quality of life and the company’s "gut feel" for a location or site. Expert DEALS then compares the extent to which these elements are present among each potential location. The software also models the "what ifs" that invariably arise when incentives or changes to the prevailing regulatory environment are considered. In essence, Expert DEALS addresses all of the company’s requirements and preferences and weighs them appropriately. Expert DEALS determines the optimal capital-investment scenario and, in turn, determines the best location and site for that scenario. Why is this important to you? Because the combination of the SSN and DEALTEK^® will ensure that your community will be carefully considered and matched to the company’s goals.

Throughout this process, DEALTEK^® also can handle communications: transaction structuring: and negotiations with community and state officials, property owners, utilities, contractors and lenders on the company’s behalf. If your community is involved in such meetings, you can be sure that you’ll be dealing with professionals who have the experience and knowledge to ensure the negotiations are productive and efficient.

By assisting the manufacturer through each aspect of the site selection process, DEALTEK’s services clearly benefit your economic development agency as well. When you work with a company that knows what it needs, has chosen your community using a sophisticated software program and understands your role in the entire process, the result will be a win/win for you and the manufacturer.

Here’s yet another twist: DEALTEK^® will apply this technology when working directly on behalf of an economic development agency to structure and negotiate the transactions involved in landing or retaining a major project. How? Expert DEALS can pinpoint your community’s competitive advantages and disadvantages, as compared to those of the other locations in the hunt. The software enables you to amplify your advantages and highlights possible solutions to the disadvantages. In other words, through the Expert DEALS, you will be able to see where to refine incentive packages, other forms of government-backed assistance, or the overall the business environment in ways that are valuable to both the company and to your community. With DEALTEK^®, you will have a systematic, efficient way to demonstrate that your community is the best choice for the manufacturer’s project.

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