A GIS-Based Sites Selection with Maximal Covering Location Problem for bank branch Development

Selecting a location is a very important decision for firms because they are costly and difficult to reverse. A poor choice of location might result in excessive transportation costs, loss of qualified labor, competitive advantage or some similar condition that would be detrimental to operations.This paper proposed integration between MCDM model represented by ANP with GIS to propose the best location for construction of a new bank branch and then using maximal covering location problem to select branches that the maximum demand might be reached within a pre-specified target travel time. Bank branch location is one of the most significant strategic issues in the competitive market. In this paper, a Geographic Information System (GIS) based model for locating suitable sites is presented to make new branches, and then maximal covering location problem (MCLP) is used to select branches such that the maximum demand might be reached within a pre-specified target travel time. The model was implemented for Mehr Eqtesad bank in Arak city, Iran. In the future research, it is recommended to study reconstruction of bank branches. Moreover, applying this model on more complex problems is a challenging area for future studies.