Optimizing Manufacturing Location Footprint Across Asia for a Nordic Industrial Machinery Manufacturer

The Opportunity

A Nordic industrial machinery manufacturer specializing in energy-efficient climate solutions was exploring opportunities to establish a new greenfield manufacturing footprint in Asia. As part of its long-term growth strategy, the company wanted to identify the most suitable manufacturing locations across the region while balancing operational efficiency, sustainability priorities, and future scalability.

The consultants were engaged to conduct a multi-country location assessment covering key Asian manufacturing markets and support the client in developing a structured decision-making framework for regional expansion.

The client faced a complex investment decision involving multiple Asian markets with very different operating environments, cost structures, infrastructure capabilities, and labor conditions.

Key challenges included:

• Limited visibility into the relative competitiveness of manufacturing locations across Asia
• Difficulty comparing countries using consistent operational and strategic criteria
• Need to balance manufacturing costs, scalability, sustainability goals, and long-term resilience
• Pressure to make a time-sensitive investment decision with long-term operational implications

The client required a structured and practical assessment that could move beyond high-level market impressions and support confident decision-making.

OUR SOLUTION

We worked closely with the client’s leadership team to define the key priorities and evaluation criteria for the future manufacturing footprint. This included discussions around productionrequirements, scalability, sustainability objectives, operating environment, and long-term investment considerations.

We then conducted a structured assessment of nine Asian manufacturing markets, evaluating each location across factors such as labor availability, infrastructure readiness, operating costs, industrial ecosystem maturity, regulatory environment, and operational risk.

To support objective comparison, we developed a weighted evaluation framework that allowed the client to assess shortlisted countries using consistent operational and strategic criteria.

Throughout the engagement, we also facilitated management discussions to review findings, validate assumptions, and refine priorities as the assessment progressed.

The RESULTS

The project ultimately helped the client narrow down the most suitable manufacturing locations and build a clearer foundation for long-term expansion planning.