Once, the site selection process ran through a company's real estate team. Along the way, the finances ended up on the CFO's desk while the Chief Marketing Officer looked at the impacts of a location on branding, the COO looked at its relationship to the company's logistics and the CEO took the 30,000 foot view. Today, CFOs are finding themselves front and center in the process.
 

There are two ways to grow EBITDA -- make more and spend less. Given that real estate is typically a company's third largest expense line (after labor and cost of goods sold), real estate optimization is one of the most effective ways to handle the backside of the EBITDA growth equation. Here is a simple six-step process to get your occupancy costs under control:

Computer-aided facilities management -- CAFM -- software has been around in one form or another since the 1960s. In the early days, it was limited in function and costly. Over the years, more and more companies started taking advantage of its capabilities and software makers responded. Today's CAFM packages run the gamut from simple inventory trackers to elaborate systems that manage every aspect of a company's facilities and the physical assets in them.

If you aren't actively involved in sourcing and leasing commercial real estate space, the process of finding the right office can be challenging. Little details can make a big difference in your occupancy, after all. Once you've figured out your budget, here are nine things to watch for.

There's a lot more to commercial warehouse leasing than just getting the right square footage at the right price. Furthermore, the technical details are more complicated than they might seem at first. While working with an expert can help increase the chances that you make the right choice, having some baseline knowledge about warehouse leasing also helps. Here are some times to keep in mind:

If you ask any accountant, they will tell you without even thinking that operating expenses are a liability. When you sign a lease and you commit yourself to making payments of rent and operating expense reimbursements, you've taken on a liability. However, inside the liability that comes from the OpEx that you're already paying, an asset might be hiding.