Location Criteria for E-Commerce Logistics Facilities: A Scale-Sensitive Analysis

The rapid proliferation of e-commerce has reshaped the spatial logic and facility typologies of urban logistics. While the literature on logistics facility location selection is extensive, there is limited understanding of how the relative importance of location criteria varies across facility types shaped by e-commerce. This study addresses this gap by analyzing the location criteria of logistics facilities of different sizes using a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach. Twenty-five criteria, identified through a literature review and feedback from seven experts in the Istanbul e-commerce logistics sector, were analyzed using the Fuzzy Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) method. The relative weights of criteria were calculated for three facility scales, macro-, meso-, and micro-scales, to reveal how location priorities vary across scales. Proximity to main arteries ranks first across all scales (macro: 0.317, meso: 0.431, micro: 0.409). Land rental values are highly prioritized at both the macro- and meso-scale, while population density ranks prominently at the macro- and micro-scale. At the meso-scale, shopping mall proximity gains notable weight, whereas intermediate arteries stand out as a key factor at the micro scale. These findings advance the understanding of scale-sensitive dynamics in urban logistics and provide a framework for more adaptable and sustainable logistics planning.