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Stream/Area:
-
Subject:
-
Paper ID:
IJSREM64503
Volume:
10 |
6 |
Jun 2026
Pages:
1-26
Publication Frequency:
Monthly (12 issues per year)
License:International Journal of Scientific Research in Engineering and Management follows the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) License, allowing free use and distribution with proper attribution.
Aviation | Logistics and Supply Chain | Tourism & Travel
Galgotias University
Warehouse location selection has emerged as one of the most important strategic decisions in modern Supply Chain and Logistics Management as it directly influences transportation efficiency, operational cost, inventory movement, delivery performance, customer satisfaction and overall business growth. In today’s competitive business environment, warehouses are much more than mere storage spaces for goods. They play a crucial role in enabling faster deliveries, ensuring smooth inventory flow, enhancing operational efficiency, and helping organisations adapt to evolving customer demands. As globalisation, e-commerce and manufacturing activities continue to rise at a rapid pace, businesses are increasingly focusing on building stronger and more efficient logistics networks. Hence, the choice of a suitable warehouse location has become a major concern for both researchers and industry professionals. Traditionally, the warehouse location decisions were driven by Transportation Connectivity, Infrastructure Availability, Labour Accessibility, Market Proximity, Raw Material Availability, Land & Operational Cost. These factors continue to be important because they have a direct impact on transportation costs, business continuity, inventory movement and overall logistics performance. However, the warehousing and logistics sector has undergone significant change in recent years, driven by growing environmental concerns, technological advancements and the increasing importance of Sustainable Logistics Practices. Today, the need for warehouse facilities is more than ever before with the ability to support sustainability initiatives like EV Charging Infrastructure, Solar Energy Systems, energy-efficient operations, and effective Waste-Management Systems. Although such changing industry requirements did exist, most of the previous warehouse location studies have primarily focused on traditional operational factors and paid relatively less attention to the modern sustainability-related requirements. Therefore, the present study aims at assessing sustainable warehouse location selection in the Manufacturing Industry by incorporating both traditional logistics factors and modern sustainability-related criteria into a practical evaluation framework. The present study considers three alternative locations of the warehouse in National Capital Region (NCR) of India, namely, Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurugram. The paper explores the importance of factors such as Transportation Connectivity, Infrastructure Availability, Labour Accessibility, Market Proximity, Raw Material Availability, Land & Operational Cost, EV Charging Infrastructure, Solar Energy Potential, Waste-Management Systems and Environmental Considerations in warehouse location choice decisions. The study also tries to fill the gap between classic warehouse location approaches and contemporary sustainability needs of the logistics industry. The study is based on Exploratory and Descriptive Research Designs and gathers expert opinions through purposive sampling of professionals working in the logistics, warehousing, supply chain, manufacturing, transportation and distribution sectors. Primary data was collected by using a structured questionnaire based on a Seven-Point Likert Scale and secondary data was collected from the research papers, journals, books and academic databases. In order to analyse the data in a systematic manner, the SWARA method was used to determine the importance of the selected criteria, while the WASPAS method was used to evaluate and rank the alternatives for warehouse location. The results show that Raw Material Availability, Labour Accessibility, Transportation Connectivity, Infrastructure Support and Land & Operational Cost are the most important factors affecting the location of warehouse choice in the manufacturing industry. The research further shows the increasing importance of sustainability factors such as Solar Energy Potential, Waste-Management Systems, EV Charging Infrastructure and Environmental Considerations in contemporary warehousing decisions. Based on the SWARA-WASPAS analysis, it was found that Noida is the most suitable and sustainable warehouse location among the selected NCR alternatives due to its strong performance in operational efficiency, infrastructure support, raw material accessibility and sustainability requirements. The study adds value to existing research by providing a practical and industry-oriented framework that combines operational and sustainability factors in a simple and realistic way. The findings can help logistics professionals, supply chain managers, and organizations make more informed, efficient, and sustainable warehouse location decisions.
KEYWORDS
The present study concludes that the choice of warehouse location has become one of the most important strategic decisions in modern Supply Chain and Logistics Management as it directly impacts operational efficiency, transportation cost, inventory movement, delivery performance, customer satisfaction and long-term business growth. The findings of the study reveal that traditional operational factors such as Raw Material Availability, Labor Accessibility, Transportation Connectivity, Infrastructure Availability and Land & Operational Cost still play a major role in warehouse location decisions within the Manufacturing Industry. These factors remain very important because they have a direct impact on operational continuity, distribution efficiency and overall logistics performance. The research also highlights that sustainability-related factors are gradually becoming important in modern warehousing operations. With the growing emphasis on sustainable business practices and increasing environmental concerns, factors such as EV Charging Infrastructure, Solar Energy Potential, Waste-Management Systems, and Environmental Considerations are now being given more attention. This implies that organizations are looking beyond just cost reduction and operational efficiency and are also focusing on environmentally responsible and future-ready warehouse operations. The last SWARA-WASPAS evaluation results selected Noida as the most suitable location for the warehouse among the selected alternatives in the NCR due to its better infrastructure support, transportation connectivity, labor accessibility, raw material availability, and sustainability readiness. The results suggest that a proper mix of traditional operational factors and sustainability-related factors can help organizations to make more practical and effective warehouse location decisions. Based on the findings of the study, several practical recommendations can be made for industry professionals and organizations. First, companies should not select warehouse locations based on transportation cost or land price alone. Alternatively, organizations should take a more balanced approach that considers operational efficiency as well as sustainability-related factors. Second, businesses should invest more in sustainable warehouse infrastructure, such as EV charging facilities, renewable energy systems, and effective waste-management practices to support long-term operational and environmental sustainability. Third, it is recommended that logistics and supply chain professionals adopt practical and easy to understand evaluation approaches that could facilitate faster and more realistic decision making in industry settings. The study also recommends that organizations regularly review changing environmental regulations, technological advancements and future logistics requirements when planning warehouse expansion or relocation decisions. Moreover, government authorities and industrial development agencies can promote sustainable warehousing by improving transportation connectivity, industrial infrastructure, renewable energy availability, and environmental support systems in industrial regions. In summary, the study concludes that the sustainable warehouse location selection needs to balance the traditional operational requirements and modern sustainability needs. The research results can help Logistics Professionals, Supply Chain Managers, warehouse planners and organizations to make better, practical, efficient and sustainable warehouse location decisions in the changing manufacturing and logistics environment. Research Limitations The present study has certain limitations that should be considered while understanding the findings. The research was limited to three warehouse locations within the NCR region and focused mainly on selected operational and sustainability-related factors. The findings were based on expert opinions collected through questionnaire surveys, and therefore individual opinions and judgments may vary among respondents. In addition, the study used the SWARA-WASPAS methods for analysis, and the results may differ if other analytical techniques or additional criteria are considered in future research. Future Research Scope The present study provides several opportunities for future research in sustainable warehouse location selection. Future researchers can expand the study by evaluating more warehouse locations across different regions and industries for broader analysis. Additional factors such as carbon emissions, green technologies, climate risk, and smart logistics systems can also be included for more detailed and practical evaluation. Future studies may further integrate advanced technologies such as GIS and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and compare different MCDM techniques to improve decision-making accuracy and practical applicability in real industrial environments.
1. Alphabetical order Ashrafzadeh, M., Mokhatab Rafiei, F., & Zare, Z. (2012). The Application of Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process Approach for the Selection of Warehouse Location: A Case Study. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(4), 112–120. https://tinyurl.com/ynmj4vv5 2. Brahimi, N., & Khan, S. A. (2013). Warehouse Location with Production, Inventory, and Distribution Decisions: A Case Study in the Lube Oil Industry. 4OR – A Quarterly Journal of Operations Research, Springer. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10288-013-0237-0 3. Çetinkaya, V., & Akdaş, O. (2022). Measuring the Importance of Warehouse Location Selection Criteria Using Best-Worst Method. Maritime Faculty Journal, 14(2), 291–305. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/deudfd/article/1035664 4. Jantachalobon, N. (2023). Strategies for Selecting a New Warehouse Location by the AHP Method: A Case Study of ABC Company. Proceedings of RSU International,Research-Conference,Thailand. https://rsucon.rsu.ac.th/files/proceedings/RSUSOC2023/IN23-007.pdf 5. Kalantari, A. H. (2013). Facility Location Selection for Global Manufacturing. Master’s Thesis, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, USA. https://tinyurl.com/mr6kywpx 6. Ocampo, L., Genimelo, G. J., Lariosa, J., Guinitaran, R., Borromeo, P. J., Aparente, M. E., Capin, T., & Bongo, M. (2020). Warehouse Location Selection with TOPSIS Group Decision-Making under Different Expert Priority Allocations. Engineering Management in Production and Services, 12(4), 22–39. https://reference-global.com/download/article/10.2478/emj-2020-0025.pdf 7. Rahman, M. S., Ali, M. I., Hossain, U., & Mondal, T. K. (2018). Facility Location Selection for Plastic Manufacturing Industry in Bangladesh by Using AHP Method. International Journal of Research in Industrial Engineering, 7(3), 307–319. https://www.riejournal.com/article_69748.html 8. Sharma, P., Singh Ghatorha, K., Kang, A. S., Cepova, L., Kumar, A., & Phanden, R. K. (2024). Strategic Insights in Manufacturing Site Selection: A Multi-Method Approach Using Factor Rating, Analytic Hierarchy Process, and Best Worst Method. Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering, 10, 1392543. https://tinyurl.com/5a89jktj 9. Suman, M. N. H., Sarfaraj, N. M., Chyon, F. A., & Fahim, M. R. I. (2021). Facility Location Selection for the Furniture Industry of Bangladesh: Comparative AHP and FAHP Analysis. International Journal of Engineering Business Management, 13, 1–15. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/18479790211030851 T. T. Yaman and G. R. Akkartal, "Warehouse Location Selection Decision Systems for Medical Sector," 2020 Fourth World Conference on Smart Trends in Systems, Security and Sustainability (WorldS4), London, UK, 2020, pp. 208-213, doi: 10.1109/WorldS450073.2020.9210406. keywords: {Analytic hierarchy process;Fuzzy sets;Companies;Bibliographies;Supply chains;SCM;drug
Publication Date
6/4/2026
Peer Review Type
Double-Blind Peer Review
Review Rounds: 2
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