Title: A decision-making framework for the selection of third-party reverse logistics provider

Authors: P. Murugesan, A. Noorul Haq

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Odaiyappa College of Engineering and Technology, PTR Nagar, Theni, Tamil Nadu, India. ' Department of Production Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract: Outsourcing has provided many third-party providers with a unique opportunity to enter the reverse logistics market. The selection of partners for the specific function of reverse logistics support becomes more important. This paper proposes a structured model for evaluating and selecting Third-Party Reverse Logistics Provider (3PRLP) by considering factors such as Third-Party Logistics (3PL) services, organisational performance criteria, organisational role, reverse logistics functions, IT applications, user satisfaction and impact of use of 3PL and their respective sub-factors using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP). A usability evaluation of the AHP-based model with four 3PRLPs is discussed. The effectiveness of the AHP and FAHP models is illustrated using a company in southern part of India.

Keywords: reverse logistics; outsourcing; MCDM; multicriteria decision making; 3PRLP; third-party reverse logistics providers; analytical hierarchy process; FAHP; fuzzy AHP; 3PL selection; India; partner selection.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSEM.2010.033372

International Journal of Services, Economics and Management, 2010 Vol.2 No.3/4, pp.350 - 370

Published online: 01 Jun 2010 *

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