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Recent developments in the provision of banking services are expected to affect the structure and the organization of modern banks significantly. Consequently, it has become necessary for most banks to reorganize their service network. In this context we demonstrate how demand-covering models may be combined with geographical information systems (GIS) to determine the optimal location of bank branches, taking into account the various factors that characterize local conditions within the demand area. The essence of the proposed models is to employ a GIS to represent various criteria concerning the demand for banking services (geographical, social, economic, etc.) as well as the competition in each particular area. This information is then taken into account by appropriate demand-covering models which determine the locations that achieve the maximum capture of the demand. Finally, we present some initial results concerning the application of this approach by a major Greek commercial bank.

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The main objective of forest-®re management is to minimize the damage caused by forest ®res. This may be achieved by deploying ®re-®ghting forces in critical locations so as to detect ®res as early as possible and quickly dispatch an initial attack force that can control them while they are small. Empirical studies have identi®ed several factors that affect the development of a forest ®re. In the present study, a methodology is employed to classify regions within a forest area according to these factors. The classi®cation is based on information provided by a Geographic Information System (GIS). This information is then passed on to a spatial optimization model that determines the optimal location of ®re-®ghting resources. A maximal covering model is employed that takes into account the classi®cation of regions by varying coverage in regions of different class. The method has been applied to the area of Parnitha, near Athens.