Objectives and Framework
This paper aims at examining the factors affecting the location strategies of global companies.
Four objectives are thus identified:
• To clarify concepts in global logistics as a result of international relocation of
companies.
• To examine the current situation of international location of Japanese companies by
area: Europe, North America (except Mexico) and Asia (subdivided in NIES, ASEAN
and China).
• To identify the factors of international location from the perspective of logistics.
• To identify which factor has more significance in international relocation.
Based on the above objectives, this paper is organized as follows:
• Section 2 defines the terminologies used in this paper and explains the global logistics
process as a result of international relocation of companies.
• Section 3 reviews the trends of companies locating abroad (shifts), transferring to
another country or coming back to Japan (withdrawals), and explains statistical data of
Japanese foreign affiliates.
• Section 4 identifies the factors of international location from the perspective of
logistics.
• Section 5 analyzes which factors have more weight in international relocation, and
identifies the significant factors for the location of Japanese companies.
• Section 6 gives the conclusion and presents additional issues concerning infrastructure