Will the new location change the customers you can serve?
- Topic
- Relocation decisions
- Reading time
- 3 minutes
- Last reviewed
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A new site can suit the production team while making the service less convenient for customers. Before committing, test the journeys behind the current offering. A postcode radius tells you less than knowing who needs an urgent response, who collects and who visits to resolve technical questions.
Take a representative set of recent jobs and remove unnecessary personal details. Record what the customer needed from the location, rather than simply where the invoice went.
Compare three service patterns
These fictional examples show why one travel assumption is insufficient.
| Customer pattern | Present arrangement | Question about the new location |
|---|---|---|
| Planned batch buyer | Receives a scheduled delivery | Does the proposed delivery arrangement preserve the agreed service and cost? |
| Local repair customer | Brings a part for discussion, then collects | Would the extra journey change the customer's willingness to use the service? |
| Technical project customer | Visits with samples during development | Can the proposed meeting and sample route still support the work? |
A move that leaves the first pattern almost unchanged could materially affect the second. The third may be manageable if technical meetings happen through an agreed alternative. Ask the relevant customers rather than assuming that convenient arrangements for one group suit everyone.
Treat conversations as evidence with limits. A customer saying it is willing to discuss a change is different from agreeing a revised service arrangement. Keep any contract or quality requirements with the people authorised to review them.
Follow the full response time
Response time includes more than the drive. Consider receiving the enquiry, clarifying the work, making a commercial decision, performing the service and returning the result. A longer journey may matter little for a planned monthly batch and a great deal for an urgent collection.
Use the future operating brief to state which service promises the business intends to retain. If a proposal depends on fewer visits or a different response time, record that change explicitly and resolve it before including the associated demand in the forecast.
Do not hide additional delivery or attendance costs inside a lower rent figure. Include them in the continuing cost comparison, using the same order pattern for each location. Where the pattern is uncertain, show what changes if visits or collections remain at their present level.
Decide whether a limited local presence earns its place
A small collection point or service presence may be worth assessing if it answers a defined customer need. It also creates work: receiving, security, staffing, records and communication. The local-presence test asks what that arrangement would actually do and how often.
Avoid keeping an old site indefinitely because one customer might need it. Equally, do not dismiss a material service dependency as an inconvenience. Make the decision from the evidence, the proposed operating model and appropriate advice on any commitments.
Once the business has settled which locations and functions continue, UK Auction Group can discuss equipment released by the relocation. Explain any retained local function before describing its contents as surplus.
See Relocation decisions for the connected choices.
Sources
This guide is general information and education only. Legal, tax, employment and safety decisions may need a qualified adviser who knows your situation. Read the disclaimer.