Abstract
The selection of a third-party logistics (3PL) provider is an important and demanding task for many companies and organizations dealing with distribution activities. To assist in decision making, this paper proposes the implementation of fuzzy logic. To design a fuzzy inference system (FIS), the first prerequisite is to determine a set of evaluation criteria and sub-criteria and to find the relationship between them. This task was solved by an extensive review of the literature and expert opinions on implementing the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach. The results obtained in the first part of the research, together with data collected from 20 3PL providers, were further used in the second part, which was related to the implementation of the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method. Finally, a decision-making tool for 3PL provider selection was designed as an FIS structure, where the inputs were the previously defined criteria and the output was a preference for 3PL selection. The fuzzy rules were generated on the basis of the collected empirical data, the preferences obtained by the TOPSIS method, and expert opinion using the Wang–Mendel method. The proposed fuzzy model is particularly suitable when input data are not crisp values but are provided descriptively through linguistic statements.
Highlights
In recent years, the field of logistics and supply chain management has grown in both complexity and popularity
We describe the development of a fuzzy inference model (FIS) for selecting a third-party logistics provider (Figure 5)
By selecting the most suitable 3PL service provider, a company can greatly save on costs, improve the quality of the business, as well as maintain existing and gain new customers
Summary
The field of logistics and supply chain management has grown in both complexity and popularity. In today’s world of efficient production, companies choose a mode of transport that will bring the best value for business at the end of the process. To this end, a computer simulation method is often used [1]. Many companies are trying to move away from own-account transportation, i.e., where a company provides its own transport services, to third-party transportation. In other words, they no longer perform many of their own logistics activities but use the principle of outsourcing. Outsourcing means that an organization hires an outside organization to provide goods or services that it traditionally provided by itself, because this third party is an “expert” at efficiently providing these goods or services, while the organization itself might not be so [3]
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