Title: An MCDM approach to third party logistics provider selection

Authors: Sylivan Boakai; Funda Samanlioglu

Addresses: Department of Industrial Engineering, Kadir Has University, 34083 Cibali, Istanbul, Turkey ' Department of Industrial Engineering, Kadir Has University, 34083 Cibali, Istanbul, Turkey

Abstract: In order to focus on their main skills and be more competitive and efficient in business, firms frequently outsource their logistics functions to a third party logistics (3PL) provider. Evaluation and selection of a 3PL provider is a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) process due to the need to take into consideration various potentially competing qualitative and quantitative criteria. In this paper, as the MCDM method, fuzzy best-worst method (BWM) is applied to a 3PL provider selection problem of a textile company in Turkey. Here, six 3PL provider alternatives are evaluated with respect to 15 criteria by three managers (decision makers). Fuzzy BWM incorporates decision makers' imprecision and ambiguity to the decision-making process and requires fewer pairwise comparisons than a frequently used method in 3PL provider selection, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Consistent results are always obtained through using fuzzy BWM, though not fully consistent.

Keywords: third-party logistics provider selection; third party logistics; 3PL; multi-criteria decision-making; MCDM; fuzzy; best-worst method; BWM.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLSM.2023.129365

International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, 2023 Vol.44 No.3, pp.283 - 299

Received: 31 Mar 2020
Accepted: 02 Feb 2021
Published online: 07 Mar 2023 *

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