Abstract
Sustainable concerns are reputed to be of the utmost priority among governments. Consequently, they have become more and more of a concern among supply chain partners. Logistics service providers (LPs), as significant contributors to supply chain success but also one of the greatest generator of emissions, play a significant role in reducing the negative environmental impact. Thus, the performance evaluations of LPs should necessarily involve such a measure which, firstly, represents a balance between all three pillars of sustainability and, secondly, consider the desirable and undesirable performance criteria. This paper proposes an integrated analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and slack-based measure (SBM) data envelopment analysis (DEA) model, based on the assumption of a variable return to scale (VRS). An AHP pairwise comparison enables selecting the most influential input/output variables. Output-oriented SBM DEA provides simultaneously evaluation of both the undesirable and desirable outputs. The proposed model was tested on a numerical example of 18 LPs. The comparison of output Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes (CCR) and SBM DEA models resulted in a higher number of inefficient LPs when the SBM DEA model was applied. Moreover, efficiency scores of inefficient LPs were lower in SBM DEA model. The proposed model is fair to those LPs that are environmentally friendly.
Highlights
Logistics service providers (LPs), as providers of logistics outsourcing, play a highly significant role within the supply chain of companies
This paper proposes an integrated analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and slack-based measure (SBM) data envelopment analysis (DEA) model, based on the assumption of a variable return to scale (VRS)
The efficiency scores of LPs were estimated with the use of an input- and output-oriented CCR model and with the use of the output-oriented SBM model (Table 6)
Summary
Logistics service providers (LPs), as providers of logistics outsourcing, play a highly significant role within the supply chain of companies. They enable concentration of the company human resource on core business, improve service quality, eliminate assets investments, reduce costs [1,2] and enhance the company’s competitiveness in the scenario of globalization [3]. The LP is a significant contributor to the supply chain success and one of the greatest consumers of energy and generators of emissions. Being a significant player within supply chains, which nowadays demands operational and sustainable effectiveness [6], LPs started to respond to environmental concerns [7]. LPs are increasing sustainable efficiency in the last miles of deliveries by optimizing routes and thereby removing unnecessary miles or idling due to congestion and by collecting more freight on a single truck and thereby cutting down the number of miles driven [8]
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