Title: Selection of a third party logistics service provider for an aerospace company: an analytical decision aiding approach

Authors: Ozden Bayazit; Birsen Karpak

Addresses: Department of Finance and SCM, Central Washington University, 20000 68th Avenue W Lynnwood, WA 98036, USA ' Department of Management, Youngstown State University, One University Plaza Youngstown, OH 44555, USA

Abstract: As shippers worldwide are increasing their use of third party logistics (3PL) services, the need for carefully selecting 3PL service providers is becoming much more critical. Choosing the right 3PL service provider is often a dilemma faced by supply chain managers. Our purpose is to show how the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) can be used in aiding companies with the decision of selecting the most capable 3PL service provider for an aerospace company. The methodology we propose enables practitioners to systematically evaluate the trade-offs among multiple factors and therefore helps them in making more informed decisions when evaluating outsourcing logistics services.

Keywords: 3PL service providers; 3PL service provider selection; logistics outsourcing; analytical hierarchy process; AHP; sensitivity analysis; aerospace industry; third party logistics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLSM.2013.054898

International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, 2013 Vol.15 No.4, pp.382 - 404

Published online: 27 Sep 2013 *

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