CASE STUDY: McKesson

Opportunity

McKesson is the central nervous system of the healthcare industry. At any given moment, the firm simultaneously executing thousands of critical operations that improve the lives of their patients and their customers’ businesses. Talent and location strategy are paramount to executing this mission. Success for this project meant updating McKesson’s existing location strategy and transferring jobs from high cost markets to low cost markets with minimal disruption to their business. Their goal was to eliminate $20 million in recurring annual costs while maximizing the attraction and retention of talent through location strategy by becoming an employer of choice.

Solution & Outcome

McKesson reached out to long-time partner CBRE to design a location strategy for the challenge outlined above. CBRE brought together an integrated team of advisors to develop a national workforce location strategy for all of McKesson’s general and administrative functions.

CBRE’s Labor Analytics led the project, conducting an analysis that spanned more than 16,000 jobs and dozens of skill sets, culminating in a strategic roadmap and scenario analysis of existing and greenfield solutions. The analysis evaluated the long-term scalability, longevity and competitive landscape, in addition to various cost modeling scenarios, for the recommended markets.

McKesson ultimately selected Irving, TX as a key hub for the firm’s long-term growth. Key positions such as IT, finance, marketing, purchasing and project management were selected for migration into a 525,000 sq. ft. building to house up to 2,400 positions by 2019. CBRE’s Location Incentives experts negotiated over $10 million in economic incentives, including the largest Enterprise Fund Award issued under Governor Abbott. Most importantly, McKesson anticipates exceeding their savings target by 25%, with $25 million in annual labor savings as a result of Labor Analytics' strategy.