accessibility factor

The success of a logistic center fundamentally depends on the cost-minimizing and on-time delivery of services to its customers. Location selection problem in an international scope is the main factor in providing an appropriate service. Thus, we aimed to find the best location to establish the logistic center. Here, two robust multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods of gray relational analysis and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) were applied for the selection of a logistic center location in the Iranian northern territory. The application of these methods can be reduced by decision-makers subjectively, which ultimately results in consistency in the weight value of the criteria. The criteria were evaluated based on various industrial project establishment requirements, including environmental, accessibility, social and economic, and location factors. These distinguish the current research from the other studies that focus on the demand and supply of a logistic to establish such a center. The results suggest that the AHP and gray relational are feasible methods for logistic and engineering location selection that effectively investigate this project's most important factors and identify a suitable alternative. The findings of our data suggest that in terms of environmental and accessibility factors, Astara port with grades of gray 0.8018 and 0.8184, was the best alternative compared to its competitors. However, in socioeconomic and location factors, the other ports were the best option. In conclusion, we recommend a short and long-term analysis of the financial and economic consequences of the project where all the alternatives’ related costs are investigated in detail.