For an industry that has nothing to do with auto repair (we're not talking about retail here), service providers do talk a lot about alignment. If you read the marketing material, you’ll notice the concept of aligning real estate and business goals is of paramount importance. You’d think we all drank the same Kool-Aid.

Marketing material aside, the concept of real estate alignment is extremely important. However, alignment means different things to different people. To me, it is certainly not a one-time fix. Alignment is a process and one that must be managed to be effective. Otherwise, it’s just marketing.

Since a corporation’s cost of occupancy is its largest fixed operating cost, real estate alignment means two things: driving down costs in existing facility operations and planning ahead to minimize the initial costs for new occupancy. Space planning and the accurate growth projections, for instance, will do much to drive down and stabilize long-term real estate costs.

When I think of alignment, I think of two parallel lines. If the lines illustrate the alignment between real estate and the business and the length of the lines illustrates time, then any small diversion in either the real estate or business direction today can create a huge gap three, five or seven years out.

Obviously, a failure to implement a good strategic plan will result in poor decision making. The more transactions made outside the context of the client’s entire portfolio, the more poor decisions will be made and the more misaligned the client’s portfolio will be in the future.

Corporate real estate managers need to check alignment frequently because it’s easier to expand or contract incrementally than it is to sublease or otherwise dispose of excess space. On the flip side, you lose any leverage if you’re forced into decisions during expansion. Often, CRE managers will lease space reactively and end up wildly misaligned especially in de-centralized environments. One client I worked with underwent several mergers and found themselves with eight leases of varying sizes in one relatively small city. They knew of their problem but they didn’t know how to resolve it. My job was getting their real estate parallel.

How can you help your clients stay parallel? If you’re a CRE executive, what data and information can you provide to your service provider to make sure your portfolio stays aligned to your business no matter whether your business is growing, shrinking or in constant flux? I have some suggestions no matter which side you’re on.

First, most CRE clients need to lean heavily on their service providers to develop a better understanding of their current occupancy. For instance, they might ask their service provider how many other similar buildings are in the area. Which companies have tenancy in these buildings and what is the vacancy rate, absorption and likelihood of change? If the client needs to consolidate, which facilities should be retained? What impact does age, condition, or location play in the decision process? Can the service provider give an opinion on the attractiveness of the existing location versus others in the market? And, if the client decides to consider a relocation or consolidation, what will be the financial impact? Is this worth the trouble? What is the payback period and what is the long-term savings? Will there be labor issues?

For the service provider, the questions are about the client’s business. What factors are affecting the company’s growth? What is the future strategy? Is this company growing, shrinking, stable or a mix? What are some future headcount projections? Who is the competition? Is future change externally or internally driven? What is the company’s appetite for change?

To effect alignment, you need to ask many questions, but all of these are simpler (and less embarrassing) to ask than “Why did my business suddenly end up in the ditch?”

Vik Bangiais managing director, strategic services for the corporate solutions group of United Properties in Minneapolis. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.