

Typically, the goal for determining the best sites for ERS centers is to make it possible for ambulances to reach the most people within a defined time frame. When someone calls for an ambulance, we trust it will come to their aid almost instantly the emergency response time depends considerably on the distance between the ambulance and the patient. The next two examples demonstrate how the goals of location-allocation problems vary according to the type of facility being located. For instance, the best location for an ERS center is different than the best location for a manufacturing plant.


Initially, it may appear that all location-allocation analyses solve the same problem, but the best location is not the same for all types of facilities. As the name suggests, location-allocation is a twofold problem that simultaneously locates facilities and allocates demand points to the facilities. Given facilities that provide goods and services and a set of demand points that consume them, the goal of location-allocation is to locate the facilities in a way that supplies the demand points most efficiently.

Public-sector facilities, such as schools, hospitals, libraries, fire stations, and emergency response services (ERS) centers, can provide high-quality service to the community at a low cost when a good location is chosen. Location can help keep fixed and overhead costs low and accessibility high. Private-sector organizations can profit from a good location, whether a small coffee shop with a local clientele or a multinational network of factories with distribution centers and a worldwide chain of retail outlets. Location is often considered the most important factor leading to the success of a private- or public-sector organization.
