News

COVID-19 has created significant challenges for companies throughout the country. Companies have had to find ways to increase production and distribution, while implementing safety measures to ensure that employees and customers were not at risk of getting sick. In this scenario with pressure from all sides, several Arkansas companies stoo...

The global pandemic has upended the labor market and dramatically and suddenly reversed U.S. economic expansion. COVID-19, especially, has caused U.S. manufactures to face unprecedented labor challenges.
With COVID-19 and the need for social distancing, these shortages are escalating. Many factories have shuttered to protect workers and prevent COVID-19’s spread. Eve...

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create an environment of unpredictability, the one certainty is that the way in which people previously commuted to their jobs — and the way in which goods and services were traditionally delivered — is likely changed forever.
It is still too early to predict th...

AD: Will more companies be re-shoring or near-shoring as a result of the global pandemic?
Jensen: For certain, most companies are closely examining the options available to them to avoid future supply chain interruptions. Part of the challenge of making a decision on a future sourcing direction is that this story isn’t over...

As state economies struggle between surging cases of COVID-19 and intense pressure to reopen — albeit with varying degrees of restrictions — companies that reduced or halted operations in response to stay-at-home orders are torn between the urgent needs to both restore revenue streams and to ensure the safety o...

Much has been written about the disruptions of COVID-19 on every line of business. In the realm of economic development, this has included a recommitment to retention and expansion programs, touting quality of life to capture the influx of remote workers, a rush to virtual site tours, and many othe...

To call the road that most metro areas have traveled this year rocky would be akin to labeling Mount Everest a speed bump. But the most turbulent period of our lifetimes will eventually give way to a sustained recovery. And when it does, certain types of metro areas are i...

For immediate evidence of disruptions in the automotive supply chain, you need to look no further than your local dealer. Many lots are nearly empty of new vehicles, with average dealer inventories across the U.S. far below the normal 50–60 days’ supply. How did this happen?
Of course, the COVID-19 pandemi...

Find Sites for Your Business in Arkansas
Oct 23 2020Arkansas has shovel ready sites, business parks and properties available for occupancy, along with a robust infrastructure and low cost of doing business. For businesses seeking a central U.S. location, Arkansas is ideal, and knowing that, we have focused on developing sites and preparing for expansion, both of our existin...

Starting March 11, 2020, when the pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a global pandemic, we quickly experienced a flurry of events thereafter, witnessing drastic changes not only take place on a worldwide scale but also in our own personal lives at home and in business as we had t...

How to Keep Remote Workers Productive and Happy
Oct 18 2020If a company has survived this far into 2020, they've figured out how to make remote work possible. But companies that see it as a temporary make-do effort will soon fall behind.
Not only are the effects of the pandemic likely to affect the way we do business long term, but the fact is that remote wor...

Why Target, Walmart, And Best Buy Are Booming Amid The Pandemic - And Being Hailed As Heroes
Oct 14 2020In late February, Target CEO Brian Cornell was sipping coffee in a Manhattan deli—one eye on the keynote address he was soon to give at an investor conference, the other on his phone as news alerts of America’s first confirmed Covid-19 death buzzed in.
Target’s communications, investor relations and special-events teams ha...

The last several years of corporate site selection have been influenced by many trends. Among these are corporate tax cuts, a red-hot industrial real estate market, the explosion of e-commerce, increasing trade protectionism, record economic growth and, in a stunning reversal, a global health pandemic and recession. It seems th...

Newly dispersed work teams are facing new challenges. During the early months of the global pandemic, more than three-quarters of organizations reported 80 percent or more of their employees were working from home, according to a global survey on workplace re-entry.
While workplace mobility isn’t new, the scale of remote work has accelerate...

While APP involves a modest amount of additional upfront time for planning, the investment pays significant dividends throughout the project — and at the most critical times. Detailed planning is executed in advance, enabling the project team and stakeholders to discuss project objectives, prioritize needs, and examine costs from th...

Indemnification Provisions in Incentives Agreements: Best Practices and Special Public Entity Issues
Sep 8 2020Indemnification provisions are an important part of the fine print of many contracts. These clauses generally operate to protect one party against the other party’s actions or failures to act that lead to a loss claimed by a third party (not a party to the contract). A common example i...

As corporate decision-makers develop their business strategies for the future, the markets they consider are rapidly changing. This dynamic trend was already in place before the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic as businesses sought to alleviate concentration risk. With the unprecedented impacts on the global economy of the curren...

The global pandemic has upended the labor market and dramatically and suddenly reversed U.S. economic expansion. COVID-19, especially, has caused U.S. manufactures to face unprecedented labor challenges.
With COVID-19 and the need for social distancing, these shortages are escalating. Many factories have shuttered to protect workers and prevent COVID-19’s spread. Eve...