Supplement to

Operational
Decision-Making
Tools: Facility
Location Models

Chapter

In this supplement, you will learn about . . .

Types of Facilities
Site Selection: Where to Locate
Global Supply Chain Factors
Location Analysis Techniques

he physical location of business facilities can have a significant impact on the success of
a company. In this supplement we will briefly discuss some of the factors that are important in locating facilities. We will focus on several quantitative methods for facility location, including location factor ratings, the center-of-gravity technique, and the load-distance
technique.

TYPES OF FACILITIES

Heavy-manufacturing
facilities are large, require
a lot of space, and are
expensive.

The type of facility is a major determinant of its location. The factors important in determining the location of a manufacturing plant are usually different from those important in locating
a service facility or a warehouse. In this section we discuss the major categories of facilities
and the different factors that are important in the location desired.
Heavy manufacturing facilities are plants that are large, require a lot of space, and are expensive to construct, such as automobile plants, steel mills, and oil refineries.
Factors in the location decision for plants include construction costs, land costs, modes of
transportation for shipping heavy manufactured items and receiving bulk shipments of raw
materials, proximity to raw materials, utilities, means of waste disposal, and labor availability.
Sites for manufacturing plants are normally selected where construction and land costs can be
kept at a minimum and raw material sources are nearby in order to reduce transportation costs.
Access to railroads is frequently a factor in locating a plant. Environmental issues have increasingly become a factor in plant location decisions.

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Light-industry facilities are

smaller, cleaner plants and
are usually less costly.

Retail and service facilities

are the smallest and least
costly.

Light-industry facilities are perceived as cleaner plants that produce electronic equipment and
components, computer products, or assembled products like TVs; breweries; or pharmaceutical firms.
Distribution centers for The Gap in Gallatin, Tennessee, Target in Augusta City, Virginia, and
Home Depot in Savannah, Georgia, each encompass more than 1.4 million square feet of space
about 30 times bigger than the area of a football field! The UPS Worldwide Logistics warehouse
in Louisville, Kentucky, includes 1.3 million square feet of floor space. Because of their role as
intermediate points in the supply chain, transportation costs are often an important factor in the
location decision for warehouses. The proximity to markets is also a consideration, depending on
the delivery requirements, including frequency of delivery required by the customer.
Retail and service facilities are usually the smallest and least costly. Examples include retail
facilities such as groceries and department stores, among many others, and such service facilities
as restaurants, banks, hotels, cleaners, clinics, and law offices. However, there are always exceptions, and some service facilities, such as a hospital, a company headquarters, a resort hotel, or a
university academic building can be large and expensive. One of the most important factors for locating a service or retail facility is proximity to customers. It is often critical that a service facility
be near the customers it serves, and a retail facility must be near the customers who buy from it.
Construction costs tend to be less important, although land or leasing costs can be high. For retail
operations, for which the saying location is everything is meaningful, site costs can be very
high. Factors like zoning, utilities, transportation, environmental constraints, and labor tend to be
less important for service operations, and closeness to suppliers is not usually as important as it is
to manufacturing firms, which must be close to materials and parts suppliers.

SITE SELECTION: WHERE TO LOCATE

When we see in the news that a company has selected a site for a new plant, or a new store is opening, the announcement can appear trivial. Usually it is reported that a particular site was selected
from among two or three alternatives, and a few reasons are provided, such as good community,
heavy customer traffic, or available land. However, such media reports do not reveal the long, detailed process for selecting a site for a business facility. It is usually the culmination of a selection
process that can take several years and the evaluation of dozens or hundreds of potential sites.
Decisions regarding where to locate a business facility or plant are not made frequently, but
they tend to be crucial in terms of a firms profitability and long-term survival. A mistake in location is not easily overcome. Business success often is being in the right place at the right time.
For a service operation such as a restaurant, hotel, or retail store, being in the right place usually
means in a location that is convenient and easily accessible to customers.
Location decisions for services tend to be an important part of the overall market strategy for
the delivery of their products or services to customers. However, a business cannot simply survey
the demographic characteristics of a geographic area and build a facility at the location with the
greatest potential for customer traffic; other factors, particularly financial considerations, must be
part of the location decision. Obviously, a site on Fifth Avenue in New York City would be attractive for a McDonalds restaurant, but can enough hamburgers and french fries be sold to pay the
rent? In this case, the answer is yes.
Location decisions are usually made more frequently for service operations than manufacturing facilities. Facilities for service-related businesses tend to be smaller and less costly, although a
hospital, or hotel can require a huge investment and be very large. Services depend on a certain
degree of market saturation; the location is actually part of their product. Where to locate a manufacturing facility is also important, but for different reasons, not the least of which is the very high
expense of building a plant or factory. Although the primary location criteria for a service-related
business is usually access to customers, a different set of criteria is important for a manufacturing
facility. These include the nature of the labor force, and labor costs, proximity to suppliers and
markets, distribution and transportation costs, energy availability and cost, the community infrastructure of roads, sewers, and utilities, quality of life in a community, and government regulations and taxes.
When the site selection process is initiated, the pool of potential locations for a manufacturing
or service facility is, literally, global. In todays international marketplace, countries around the

Supplement 7 Operational Decision-Making Tools: Facility Location Models

299

world become potential sites. The site selection process is one of gradually and methodically
narrowing down the pool of alternatives until the final location is determined. In the following discussion, we identify some of the factors that companies consider when determining the country,
region, community, and site at which to locate a facility.

GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN FACTORS

In recent years U.S. companies have begun to locate in foreign countries to be closer to newly
emerging markets and to take advantage of lower labor costs. Trade agreements between countries
have reduced trade barriers around the world and created new markets like the European Community (EC), Eastern Europe, and Asia.
Foreign firms have also begun to locate in the United States to be closer to their customers.
For both U.S. and foreign companies, the motivation is the sameto reduce supply chain costs
and better serve their customers. Relatively slow overseas transportation requires multinational
companies to maintain large, costly inventories to serve their foreign customers in a timely manner. This drives up supply chain costs and makes it economical for companies to relocate closer to
their markets.
While foreign markets offer great opportunities, the problems with locating in a foreign country
can be substantial, making site location a very important part of supply chain design. For example,
although China offers an extremely attractive market because of its huge population, growing economy, and cheap labor force, it has an inefficient transportation and distribution system, and numerous government regulations. Markets in Russia and the former Soviet states are attractive; however
they can also be risky since the free market economy is still new to these states. Lack of familiarity
with standard business practices and corruption can threaten success for foreign companies.
Some of the factors that multinational firms must consider when locating in a foreign country
include the following:

Government stability
Government regulations
Political and economic systems
Economic stability and growth
Exchange rates
Culture
Climate
Export and import regulations, duties,
and tariffs

Raw material availability

Number and proximity of suppliers
Transportation and distribution systems
Labor force cost and education
Available technology
Commercial travel
Technical expertise
Cross-border trade regulations
Group trade agreements

REGIONAL AND COMMUNITY LOCATION FACTORS

IN THE UNITED STATES
Manufacturing facilities in the United States were historically located in the Midwest, especially in
the Great Lakes region. Industry migrated to the sunbelt areas, the Southeast and Southwest, during
the 1960s and 1970s, where labor was cheaper (and not unionized), the climate was better, and the
economy was growing. However, in the late 1990s, there was a perceptible shift in new plants and
plant expansion back to the nations agricultural heartland. The North Central region, consisting of
Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio, attracted new and expanded facilities as did the South Atlantic region.
Certain states are successful in attracting new manufacturing facilities for a variety of reasons.
Ohio, for example, is well located along the Interstate-75 corridor, and it is within one-day truck
delivery of 60% of the U.S. population and two-thirds of its purchasing power. It has a good base
of skilled and educated labor, a large mass of industry that spawns other businesses, and it has
established good incentive programs to attract new businesses. Ohio also benefits from a number
of towns and cities with populations less than 50,000 that have a rich agricultural heritage. The
residents of these communities have a strong work ethic and are self-reliant and neighborly. These
communities typically have quality health services; low crime rates; solid infrastructures of roads,
water and sewer systems; open spaces to expand; and quality education.

The most growth in

manufacturing facilities
is in the Midwest.

Ohio attracts manufacturing

facilities because of good
transportation, skilled labor
with a strong work ethic,
incentive programs, and
quality social services.

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Laborcost, availability,
work ethic, conflict, and
skillis important in a
companys location decision.

Closeness to customers can be

a factor in providing quality
service.

Service facilities generally

require high customer-traffic
volume.

Infrastructure:
the roads, water and sewer, and
utilities at a location.

Labor is one of the most important factors in a location decision, including the cost of labor,
availability, work ethic, the presence of organized labor and labor conflict, and skill and educational level. Traditionally, labor costs have been lower and organized labor has been less visible
across the South and Southwest. While labor conflict is anathema to many companies, in some
cases labor unions have assisted in attracting new plants or in keeping existing plants from relocating by making attractive concessions.
The proximity of suppliers and markets are important location factors. Manufacturing companies need to be close to materials, and service companies like fast-food restaurants, retail stores,
groceries, and service stations need to be close to customers and distribution centers. Transportation costs can be significant if frequent deliveries over long distances are required. The closeness
of suppliers can determine the amount of inventory a company must keep on hand and how
quickly it can serve its own customers. Uncertainty in delivery schedules from suppliers can require excessive inventories.
It is important for service-related businesses to be located near their customers. Many businesses simply look for a high volume of customer traffic as the main determinant of location, regardless of the competition. An interstate highway exit onto a major thoroughfare always has a
number of competing service stations and fast-food restaurants. Shopping malls are an example of
a location in which a critical mass of customer traffic is sought to support a variety of similar and
dissimilar businesses.
Another important factor, infrastructure, is the collection of physical support systems of a location, including the roads, water and sewer, and utilities. If a community does not have a good infrastructure, it must make improvements if it hopes to attract new business facilities. From a
companys perspective, an inadequate infrastructure will add to its supply chain costs and inhibit
its customer service.
Factors that are considered when selecting the part of the country and community for a facility
are summarized as follows:
Labor (availability, education, cost,
and unions)
Proximity of customers
Number of customers
Construction/leasing costs
Land cost
Modes and quality of transportation
Transportation costs
Community government
Local business regulations
Government services
(e.g., Chamber of Commerce)
Financial services
Community inducements

Business climate
Community services
Incentive packages
Government regulations
Environmental regulations
Raw material availability
Commercial travel
Climate
Infrastructure (e.g., roads, water, sewers)
Quality of life
Taxes
Availability of sites
Proximity of suppliers
Education system

LOCATION INCENTIVES
Location incentives include
tax credits, relaxed
government regulations,
job training, infrastructure
improvements, and money.

Besides physical and societal characteristics, local incentives have increasingly become a major
important factor in attracting companies to specific locations. Incentive packages typically include
job tax credits, relaxed government regulations, job training, road and sewage infrastructure improvements, and sometimes just plain cash. These incentives plus the advantages of a superior
location can significantly reduce a companys supply chain costs while helping it achieve its
strategic goal for customer service.
States and communities cannot afford to overlook incentives if they hope to attract new companies and jobs. However, they must make sure that the amount of their investment in incentive
packages and the costs they incur for infrastructure improvements are balanced against the number of new jobs developed and the expansion of the economy the new plant will provide.
Incentives are a good public investment unless they bankrupt the locality. While some small communities are successful in attracting new businesses, they are left with little remaining tax base to
pay for the infrastructure improvements needed to support the increased population drawn by job

Supplement 7 Operational Decision-Making Tools: Facility Location Models

demand. Thus, states and communities, much like businesses, need a strategy for economic development that weighs the costs versus the benefits of attracting companies.

GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS

A recent information technological advancement that is increasingly being used in the facility location and site selection process is a geographic information system or GIS. A GIS is a computerized
system for storing, managing, creating, analyzing, integrating, and digitally displaying geographic
(i.e., spatial, data). A GIS is both a database system as well as a set of operations for working with and
analyzing this data. As a tool specifically used for site selection, it allows the user to interactively
search and analyze the type of data and information (i.e., location factors) we discussed in the previous sections that might be related to the site selection process, such as population, labor, income, customer base, climate, taxes, and transportation. Frequently a GIS used for site selection will incorporate
quantitative models (like the ones presented later in this chapter and text) to help analyze the data.
Figure S7.1 provides a simple schematic diagram of how a GIS for site selection might be constructed. Each layer (or spatial map) in this diagram contains information about one characteristic
(or attribute) of the location begin analyzed. Each layer that might relate to the site selection process
is precisely overlaid on the other layers so that their corresponding geographic (spatial, locations)
are exactly matched to each other. The bottom layer is a geographic grid that serves as a frame of
reference (e.g., latitude and longitude), to which all the other layers are precisely matched.
Once these layers of data have been entered into the GIS, information about the layers can be
compared and analyzed in combination. For example, transportation routes can be considered relative to the location of plants, distribution centers, and shippers, as well as labor markets and natural resources, such as water. Such comparative analyses are frequently in the form of digital
computer displays as well as three-dimensional graphs and displays. The GIS may provide just
statistical analyses for use in the decision-making process, or it may incorporate one or more
quantitative models to provide a recommended decision about a site.
The advantage of a GIS is that it enables the user to integrate large quantities of information
about potential facility sites and then analyze these data with a number of different, powerful analytical tools. The ability to consider hundreds of separate layers of spatial information and then
combine it with other layers of information is the main reason GIS has become such a popular
tool for location analysis and site selection.
One of the first major uses of GIS was in environmental and natural resources planning, and land
use management for the analysis of such things as agricultural lands, wildlife habitat, wetlands,

Figure S7.1

A GIS Diagram
rces
sou

l re
ura
Nat

rs
me

Layers
of spatial
data

to
Cus

Cos

La

ion
rtat
o
p
ns
Tra
or
Lab
n
atio
Loc

titu

de

de

gitu
Lon

301

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Internet
Exercises

floodplains, and forests. It has also come to be used extensively for utilities and infrastructure planning and management, including such things as energy use, cable and pipe networks, gas lines, electrical usage and networks, and transportation, as well as real estate analysis, demographic and
marketing analysis, and various government applications such as emergency services and analyzing
tax bases. However, in recent years GIS has come to be used more and more in business applications.
For example, GIS has been used to select distribution centers or hubs based on spatial data for shipping times, customer locations, transportation routes, etc. Bank of America upon entering the New
York City market used a GIS to show the distribution of its own branch network relative to deposit
potential in the New York market area; from this they determined where their market coverage was
strong or weak. Levi Strauss used a GIS to create a geographic network of its existing retailers, potential retailers, and the customer base each served, so it could make sure that new stores that joined its
retail network would not adversely affect sales in existing stores. Edens & Avant, one of the nations
leading retail real estate companies, has a GIS-based Web site that enables retailers to locate space in
their inventory (at various shopping malls, etc.) that specifically matches their site selection criteria.
Today there are hundreds of commercial software systems that offer GIS capabilities for different applications including site selection, and numerous consulting and software firms that specialize in the development of GIS for specific applications. The list of Web sites for this
supplement includes links to several GIS software systems and some of the major companies that
specialize in GIS development and applications.

LOCATION ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES

We will discuss three techniques to help make a location decisionthe location rating factor, the
center-of-gravity technique, and the load-distance technique. The location factor rating mathematically evaluates location factors, such as those identified in the previous section. The center-ofgravity and load-distance techniques are quantitative models that centrally locate a proposed
facility among existing facilities.

LOCATION FACTOR RATING

Location factor rating:

a method for identifying and
weighting important location
factors.

Example S7.1

Location Factor
Rating

The decision where to locate is based on many different types of information and inputs. There is no
single model or technique that will select the best site from a group. However, techniques are
available that help to organize site information and that can be used as a starting point for comparing
different locations.
In the location factor rating system, factors that are important in the location decision are identified. Each factor is weighted from 0 to 1.00 to prioritize the factor and reflect its importance. A
subjective score is assigned (usually between 0 and 100) to each factor based on its attractiveness
compared with other locations, and the weighted scores are summed. Decisions typically will not
be made based solely on these ratings, but they provide a good way to organize and rank factors.

The Dynaco Manufacturing Company is going to build a new plant to manufacture ring bearings (used in automobiles and trucks). The site selection team is evaluating three sites, and
they have scored the important factors for each as follows. They want to use these ratings to
compare the locations.
Scores (0 to 100)
Location Factor
Labor pool and climate
Proximity to suppliers
Wage rates
Community environment
Proximity to customers
Shipping modes
Air service

Weight

Site 1

Site 2

Site 3

0.30
0.20
0.15
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.05

80
100
60
75
65
85
50

65
91
95
80
90
92
65

90
75
72
80
95
65
90

Supplement 7 Operational Decision-Making Tools: Facility Location Models

Solution
The weighted scores for each site are computed by multiplying the factor weights by the score
for that factor. For example, the weighted score for labor pool and climate for site 1 is
(0.30)(80) 5 24 points
The weighted scores for each factor for each site and the total scores are summarized as follows:
Weighted Scores
Location Factor

Site 1

Site 2

Site 3

Labor pool and climate

Proximity to suppliers
Wage rates
Community environment
Proximity to customers
Shipping modes
Air service

24.00
20.00
9.00
11.25
6.50
4.25
2.50

19.50
18.20
14.25
12.00
9.00
4.60
3.24

27.00
15.00
10.80
12.00
9.50
3.25
4.50

Total score

77.50

80.80

82.05

Site 3 has the highest factor rating compared with the other locations; however, this evaluation would have to be used with other information, particularly a cost analysis, before making
a decision.

LOCATION FACTOR RATING WITH EXCEL AND OM TOOLS

Exhibit S7.1 shows the Excel spreadsheet for Example S7.1. Notice that the location score for
Site 1 is shown in cell E12 and the formula for the computation of the site 1 score (embedded in
E12) is shown on the formula bar at the top of the spreadsheet.
Exhibit S7.2 shows the OM Tools spreadsheet for Example S7.1

Excel File

Exhibit S7.1

Formula for Site 1 Score

Exhibit S7.2

OM Tools

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CENTER-OF-GRAVITY TECHNIQUE
Center-of-gravity technique:
the center of movement in a
geographic area based on transport
weight and distance.

In general, transportation costs are a function of distance, weight, and time. The center-of-gravity, or
weight center, technique is a quantitative method for locating a facility such as a warehouse at the
center of movement in a geographic area based on weight and distance. This method identifies a
set of coordinates designating a central location on a map relative to all other locations.
The starting point for this method is a grid map set up on a Cartesian plane, as shown in
Figure S7.2. There are three locations, 1, 2, and 3, each at a set of coordinates (xi, yi) identifying
its location in the grid. The value Wi is the annual weight shipped from that location. The objective
is to determine a central location for a new facility.

Figure S7.2

Grid Map
Coordinates

y2

2 (x2, y2), W2
1 (x1, y1), W1

y1

3 (x3, y3), W3

y3

x1

x2

x3

The coordinates for the location of the new facility are computed using the following formulas:
n

a x iWi

x =

i=1
n

a yiWi

y =

a Wi

i=1
n

a Wi

i=1

i=1

where
x, y = coordinates of the new facility at center of gravity
x i, yi = coordinates of existing facility i
Wi = annual weight shipped from facility i

The Center-ofGravity Technique

The Burger Doodle restaurant chain purchases ingredients from four different food suppliers.
The company wants to construct a new central distribution center to process and package the
ingredients before shipping them to their various restaurants. The suppliers transport ingredient items in 40-foot truck trailers, each with a capacity of 38,000 lbs. The locations of the
four suppliers, A, B, C, and D, and the annual number of trailer loads that will be transported
to the distribution center are shown in the following figure:
y
700
600

Miles

Example S7.2

500

C
(135)

B
(105)

400
300
200

D
(60)

A
(75)

100
0

100 200 300 400 500 600 700 x

Miles

Supplement 7 Operational Decision-Making Tools: Facility Location Models

305

Using the center-of-gravity method, determine a possible location for the distribution center.

Solution
A

xA 5 200
yA 5 200
WA 5 75

xB 5 100
yB 5 500
WB 5 105

xC 5 250
yC 5 600
WC 5 135

xD 5 500
yD 5 300
WD 5 60

a x iWi

x =

i=A
D

a Wi

i=A

120021752 + 1100211052 + 1250211352 + 150021602

=

75 + 105 + 135 + 60

= 238
D

a yiWi

y =

i=A
D

a Wi

i=A

120021752 + 1500211052 + 1600211352 + 130021602

=

75 + 105 + 135 + 60

= 444
Thus, the suggested coordinates for the new distribution center location are x 5 238 and y 5 444.
However, it should be kept in mind that these coordinates are based on straight-line distances, and
in a real situation actual roads might follow more circuitous routes.

CENTER-OF-GRAVITY TECHNIQUE WITH EXCEL

AND OM TOOLS

Excel File

Exhibit S7.3 shows the Excel spreadsheet for Example S7.2. The formula for computing the
x-coordinate in cell C13 is shown on the formula bar at the top of the spreadsheet.
Exhibit S7.4 on the next page shows the OM Tools spreadsheet for Example S7.2.

LOAD-DISTANCE TECHNIQUE
A variation of the center-of-gravity method for determining the coordinates of a facility location
is the load-distance technique. In this method, a single set of location coordinates is not identified.

Load-distance technique:
a method of evaluating different
locations based on the load being
transported and the distance.

Exhibit S7.3

Formula for x coordinate

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Part 1 Operations Management

Exhibit S7.4

OM Tools

Instead, various locations are evaluated using a load-distance value that is a measure of weight
and distance. For a single potential location, a load-distance value is computed as follows:
n

LD = a l i di
i=1

where
LD 5 the load-distance value
li 5 the load expressed as a weight, number of trips,
or units being shipped from the proposed site to location i
di 5 the distance between the proposed site and location i
The distance di in this formula can be the travel distance, if that value is known, or can be determined from a map. It can also be computed using the following formula for the straight-line distance
between two points, which is also the hypotenuse of a right triangle:
di = 21x i - x22 + 1yi - y22
where
1x, y2 = coordinates of proposed site
1x i, yi2 = coordinates of existing facility
The load-distance technique is applied by computing a load-distance value for each potential
facility location. The implication is that the location with the lowest value would result in the minimum transportation cost and thus would be preferable.

Example S7.3

The LoadDistance
Technique

Burger Doodle wants to evaluate three different sites it has identified for its new distribution
center relative to the four suppliers identified in Example S7.2. The coordinates of the three
sites under consideration are as follows:
Site 1: x 1 = 360, y1 = 180
Site 2: x 2 = 420, y2 = 450
Site 3: x 3 = 250, y3 = 400

Solution
First, the distances between the proposed sites (1, 2, and 3) and each existing facility (A, B,
C, and D), are computed using the straight-line formula for di:
Site 1: dA = 21x A - x 122 + 1yA - y122
= 21200 - 36022 + 1200 - 18022
= 161.2

Supplement 7 Operational Decision-Making Tools: Facility Location Models

dB = 21x B - x 122 + 1yB - y122

= 21100 - 36022 + 1500 - 18022
= 412.3
dC = 21x C - x 122 + 1yC - y122
= 21250 - 36022 + 1600 - 18022
= 434.2
dD = 21x D - x 122 + 1yD - y122
= 21500 - 36022 + 1300 - 18022
= 184.4
Site 2: dA = 333, dB = 323.9, dC = 226.7, dD = 170
Site 3: dA = 206.2, dB = 180.3, dC = 200, dD = 269.3
Next, the formula for load distance is computed for each proposed site:
D

LD 1site 12 = a l i di
i=A

= 17521161.22 + 110521412.32 + 113521434.22 + 16021184.42

= 125, 063
LD 1site 22 = 175213332 + 110521323.92 + 113521226.72 + 160211702
= 99, 789
LD 1site 32 = 17521206.22 + 110521180.32 + 1135212002 + 16021269.32
= 77, 555
Since site 3 has the lowest load-distance value, it would be assumed that this location would
also minimize transportation costs. Notice that site 3 is very close to the location determined
using the center-of-gravity method in Example S7.2.

LOAD-DISTANCE TECHNIQUE WITH EXCEL AND OM TOOLS

Exhibit S7.5 shows the Excel spreadsheet for Example S7.3. The formula for computing the distance from supplier location A to site 1 is embedded in C11 and is shown on the formula bar at the
top of the spreadsheet. The formula for computing the location-distance formula for site 1 is
shown in the call out box attached to cell C17.
Exhibit S7.6 shows the OM Tools spreadsheet for Example S7.3.

Excel File

Exhibit S7.5

=B7*C11+C7*C12+D7*C13+E7*C14

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Part 1 Operations Management

Exhibit S7.6

OM Tools

Practice
Quizzes

SUMMARY
Facility location is an often overlooked but important aspect
of a companys strategic plan. What kind of facility to build
and where to locate it are expensive decisions. A location decision is not easily reversed if it is a bad one. For a service operation, the wrong location can result in too few customers to
be profitable, whereas for a manufacturing operation, a wrong

location can result in excessive costs, especially for transportation and distribution, and high inventories. The quantitative tools presented in this supplement are not usually
sufficient for making an actual location decision, but they do
provide means for helping in the location analysis and decision process.

SUMMARY OF KEY FORMULAS

Center-of-Gravity Coordinates

Load-Distance Technique

a x iWi

x =

i=1
n

a Wi

i=1

a yiWi

y =

i=1
n

a Wi

i=1

LD = a l i di
i=1

di = 21x i - x22 + 1yi - y22

SUMMARY OF KEY TERMS

center-of-gravity technique a quantitative method for locating a
facility at the center of movement in a geographic area
based on weight and distance.
infrastructure the physical support structures in a community,
including roads, water and sewage systems, and utilities.
load-distance technique a quantitative method for evaluating
various facility locations using a value that is a measure of
weight and distance.

location factor rating a system for weighting the importance of

different factors in the location decision, scoring the individual factors, and then developing an overall location
score that enables a comparison of different location
sites.