An application of AHP for facility location in fruit and vegetable markets

These days, one of primary concerns for residence of big cities is associated with the access on shopping centers. People prefer to live in places, which are close to their works, shopping centers and schools. Local governments also prefer to find the most appropriate places in an attempt to reduce unnecessary travels and traffic jams. In this paper, we present an empirical investigation to determine the most important factors influencing facility location for fruit and vegetable market in city of Tehran, Iran. The study has implemented two methods of analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and factor analysis for the investigation. The implementation of AHP has considered two main criteria including Geographic location of market and market, amenities and existing infrastructures. In terms of Geographic location of market, cost saving and public infrastructure are found to be the most important factors while in terms of market based factors, Space and availability of parking are the most important factors. We also use factor analysis and the results of our survey have indicated that Space and Ease of access were two most important factors, which must be considered for facility location.