Bitlis Eren Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Dergisi BİTLİS EREN UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF SCIENCE ISSN: 2147-3129/e-ISSN: 2147-3188 VOLUME: 11 NO: 4 PAGE: 943-952 YEAR: 2022 DOI:10.17798/bitlisfen.1107662 943 AHP Application for Logistics Center Location Selection According to Criteria Burçin PAÇACI 1 * , Serpil EROL 2 , M. Kürşat ÇUBUK 1 1 Gazi Üniversitesi, Mühendislik Fakültesi, İnşaat Mühendisliği Bölümü, ANKARA, 2 Gazi Üniversitesi, Mühendislik Fakültesi, Endüstri Mühendisliği Bölümü, ANKARA, (ORCID:0000-0001-6053-0458) (ORCID:0000-0002-6885-3849) (ORCID:0000-0001-8155-7123) Keywords: Logistic, Economy, Transportation, Multi-criteria selection, AHP. Abstract Today, logistics is effective in every field and has an important share in the revival of both domestic and foreign trade. The rapid increase in competition in global trade has increased the importance of the logistics sector and, accordingly, logistics centers. With well-planned and high-performance logistics centers in our country, the contribution of the logistics sector to the economy will increase and it will be ensured that our country is a logistics base in international transport corridors. In this study, criteria were determined by conducting a comprehensive literature review for logistics center location These criteria consist of seven main criteria, namely population, economy, cost, socio-economic status, infrastructure, geographical location and service, and twenty-seven sub-criteria belonging to these main criteria. The criteria were evaluated by benefiting from the opinions of experts in the field of logistics, and the order of importance of the main and sub-criteria determined for the logistics center location determination was found by AHP methods. 1. Introduction With the systematic and efficient realization of logistics activities, time and cost will be gained in global trade, where competition is rapidly increasing [1]. In order to reduce the cost of logistics facilities and to ensure a better flow of materials, efficient/effective design of distribution centers is required [2]. The development of a logistics center network at the national and international level is a prerequisite for the transport and logistics chain [3]. The main purpose of logistics is to minimize the cost in the supply chain. While the rate of logistics cost is 20% in underdeveloped countries, this rate varies between 3% and 5% in industrialized countries [4]. In addition, a 5% improvement in logistics costs, including shipping, storage, management costs, and inventory costs, is considered equivalent to a 20% improvement in sales. According to a report published by the World Bank, while the ratio of logistics costs to GNP (Gross National Product) is around 10% in developed countries, this ratio is around 30% in developing countries [5]. This difference in rates shows that the cost will be greatly * Corresponding author: burcinpcc@gmail.com Received:25.04.2022, Accepted:28.08.2022 reduced with a well-designed and developed logistics network. Logistics centers with high performance also have high profits and can provide services both regionally and globally. The profit of logistics centers where both domestic and foreign investors can be used effectively is higher. For this reason, the location of logistics centers should be designed in such a way as to get the most efficiency both in the region and internationally. In order to achieve the desired success in this regard, it is necessary to know the characteristics of the regions such as income sources and employment rates, to evaluate the geographical location in the best way, and to plan the logistics center design for the future correctly. Therefore, factors such as the needed facilities and applicability are important in order to achieve high performance in the logistics center application [6]. In this study, the relevant studies for the logistics center location determination were examined in detail and new criteria were found by taking into account the opinions of experts in the field. The importance levels of these criteria, which were determined for the location of the logistics center,