A decision aid in warehouse site selection

The strategic importance of logistics is steadily increasing and companies need effective logistics support to achieve competitive advantage. Warehousing strategy is an essential element of the overall distribution logistics strategy and especially the decision of selecting optimal sites for warehouses has significant effects on customer service and logistic costs. The warehouse site selection is a complex process where multiple, both tangible and intangible, criteria need to be considered. However, many of the present methods supporting the process remain cost-oriented. In the paper, the authors present an integrated approach to the site selection process where both qualitative and quantitative aspects can be taken into account by using an analytic hierarchy process-based decision aid.