Assessing the Location of Distribution Warehouses Using Spatial Multi-Criteria Decision Making Methods: An ANP-OWA Approach

Distribution warehouses have great importance in the economy of the country, and a significant percentage of assets are accumulated in warehouses. Choosing the best place of the warehouses has a significant impact on the economic efficiency and performance of the warehouses and reduction of supply chain costs. In this research, a multi-criteria decision-making model based on a geospatial information system is presented to evaluate the potential areas for distribution depots in the province of Tehran. The proposed process consists of four main steps. In the first step, different criteria were extracted and the required data were collected in the context of GIS. In the second step, the evaluation factors were identified by experts and then weighted and integrated utilizing ANP method. At the third step, defining different scenarios based on the Ordinary Weighted Average (OWA) method taking into account the risk compensation in the decision-making process. Finally, using the data of Tehran province, the effectiveness of the proposed model was evaluated and results were analyzed. At the end, by combining the outputs of different scenarios, the places which recognized as good alternatives in most scenarios, were identified as appropriate options for doing additionalstudies to construct distribution warehouses.