Location Analysis: the Decision‐making Process

Abstract

The location of economic facilities has existed as a problem for some considerable time, yet its emergence as an integral part of total distribution planning seems quite recent. The development of techniques to solve particular, well defined problems has resulted in a wide range of algorithms, heuristics and simulation programs. Several of these are “packaged” by consulting organisations and indeed are quite successful in solving that part of the problem which can be represented in the required format. The role of location in the concept of total distribution is, however, rather more complex. For this reason, it is instructive to examine the progress of locational analysis from its origins in analytical geometry through the work of the economic geographers to the current emphasis on the systems approach to distribution. It is then possible to investigate how the historical development of the problem has influenced the decision‐making process, and to what extent this influence is now desirable.

Citation

Westwood, J.B. (1974), "Location Analysis: the Decision‐making Process", International Journal of Physical Distribution, Vol. 5 No. 1, pp. 22-30. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb014328