Finding the best third-party logistics in the automobile industry

Abstract

Given the current economic climate, many companies are considering outsourcing some activities to reduce costs and to focus on their core competency; thus, by adopting a competency-focused approach they enhance their chances to survive in a growing and competitive market. Third-Party Logistics (3PL) is a system that facilitates logistic activities. First, however, the organizations need to assess which companies are suitable for outsourcing. The aim of this paper is to depict a structural system for 3PL selection and validate it in real-world automobile companies. We use the Delphi method to determine criteria for 3PL selection and apply Evaluation by an Area-based Method for Ranking (EAMR) to prioritize the candidate alternatives. This method is used in combination with a Shannon Entropy based approach for determining the required weights. Computational analysis shows which criteria and companies have high priority, and based on that candidate alternatives for outsourcing are evaluated. The results suggest how automobile companies select 3PL companies and allocate their work to them.