The direct answer
Boards should govern site selection when location materially affects strategy, capital intensity, customer service, supply-chain resilience or long-term optionality. The property is only one variable in a wider operating system.
The decision stack
A robust process links strategic requirements to regional screening, labour and skills, logistics, utilities, land or building fit, planning status, licensing, incentives, environmental constraints, cost scenarios and implementation risk.
Common failure modes
Teams often search property too early, overvalue headline incentives, underestimate licensing and utility lead times, or compare locations using inconsistent assumptions. These errors surface after capital and reputation are already committed.
NAUPT recommendation
Set board-approved criteria, maintain comparable scenarios and keep property owners, brokers and providers separate from the investor’s final decision governance.