Suitability Analysis for Expanding Companies

Abstract: When companies are expanding, they are searching for optimal locations according to parameters which are important for the company. Companies for which the geographic location is important needs to rely on geographic aspects to find the optimal site for their service. The geographic tool of using Suitability Analysis can make the planning of expansions more efficient. Is it possible to give a reliable Suitability Analysis and will it differ between different choices of weighting techniques in the analysis? The focus of the study is on the reliability of Suitability Analysis for expanding companies depending on geographic data. It will, through a study on a start-up company, be checked if the Suitability Analysis is different between two frequently used weighting ideas; Analytic Hierarchy Process and Swing Weight Technique, in this type of analysis. The Suitability Analysis will be done using Geographical Information Systems and the result will be two suitability maps. The study results in two different suitability maps, one for each weighting technique, with differences. The different techniques are dissimilar in their subjectivity of the weighting, which is reflected in the result. Suitability Analysis is useful for companies which expansions are depending on geographic aspect. The key to a reliable and useful suitability analysis is depending on a credible source of data for respectively parameter of interest. It decreases the risk of error sources and gives the result a higher reliability.