What Are the Physical Resources of a Business?

The physical resources of a business include all the tangible resources owned and used by a company such as land, manufacturing equipment and office equipment. Information technology and its attendant equipment, computers, networks, servers and others, are included in the category of physical resources.

Physical resources may encompass a wide variety of specific items and objects depending on the nature of the business.

  • Land, buildings, water and water rights
  • Machinery and manufacturing equipment
  • Vehicles and distribution networks
  • IT equipment and hardware
  • Point-of-sale systems

Some physical assets are specific to a particular industry. Livestock, feed and crop reserves are specific to the agricultural sector, for example. Physical resources may be more or less crucial depending on the nature of the industry. Physical resources typically require a significant outlay of capital. A car manufacturer must invest considerable amounts into production facilities that can only be housed in a suitable area, while a small software developer can set up in any number of available office locations at a competitive rate.

Efficient management of physical resources is an important consideration in any business, even in the field of IT where physical infrastructure can affect issues, such as power usage, and environmental requirements, such as cooling systems for computer systems.