Real estate is a cost center for most organizations. Every square foot you occupy (whether you lease or own) is an expense that you can’t spend on R&D or sales or marketing. But without that real estate you couldn’t do those things anyway. There’s a balance there that must be identified and maintained. So yes, real estate is a cost but it is also a requirement.
So when looking at your real estate costs for opportunities to improve the cost position of your portfolio how do you account for this balance? What are the constraints that must be met and how do you communicate those between the business and the real estate function?