I can speak to this on many levels!

I liked having the raw resources pumped in from tractors and now trains, but I also like having my energy production be off-site since it is a large investment into your space, especially once you get out of biofuel and into coal. I had some 3GW production of coal and good god the area it took up was nuts. Fuel is way better about this, but they are still super big.

If I can convince my friend to try the game, I'll definitely start fresh with him and do on site production instead as now that I have trains I wish I had. This is particularly true for once you get just regular tractors, let alone trucks or trains.

I also don't obsess over peak efficiency. I know that my setup currently overproduces wire and concrete, but it is not much of a concern since it can only overproduce into storage so much before the storage is full.

Also please, whatever you do, when you unlock screws produce those at factory, you need VERY fast belts to even keep up with modest production.