A grey DEMATEL approach to develop third-party logistics provider selection criteria

2016 ◽  
Vol 116 (4) ◽  
pp. 690-722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kannan Govindan ◽  
Roohollah Khodaverdi ◽  
Amin Vafadarnikjoo
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Financial Stability ◽  
Selection Criteria ◽  
Grey System Theory ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Main Role ◽  
Third Party Logistics ◽  
Grey System ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – Third-party logistics (3PL) plays a main role in supply chain management and, as a result, has experienced remarkable growth. The demand for 3PL providers has become a main approach for companies to offer better customer service, reduce costs, and gain competitive advantage. This paper identifies important criteria for 3PL provider selection and evaluation, and the purpose of this paper is to select 3PL providers from the viewpoint of firms which were already outsourcing their logistics services. Design/methodology/approach – This study utilized the grey decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method to develop 3PL provider selection criteria. Because human judgments are vague and complicated to depict by accurate numerical values, the grey system theory is used to handle this problem. Findings – The findings revealed the structure and interrelationships between criteria and identified the main criteria for 3PL provider selection. The most important criteria for 3PL provider selection are on time delivery performance, technological capability, financial stability, human resource policies, service quality, and customer service, respectively. Practical implications – The paper’s results help managers of automotive industries, particularly in developing countries, to outsource logistics activities to 3PL providers effectively and to create a significant competitive advantage. Originality/value – The main contributions of this paper are twofold. First, this paper proposes an integrated grey DEMATEL method to consider interdependent relationships among the 3PL provider selection criteria. Second, this study is one of the first studies to consider 3PL provider selection in a developing country like Iran.

Sustainable evaluation and selection of potential third-party logistics (3PL) providers

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rakesh Raut ◽  
Manoj Kharat ◽  
Sheetal Kamble ◽  
Chandra Shekhar Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Selection Criteria ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Integrated Model ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Third Party Logistics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Selection Of

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to efficiently assist the decision makers in evaluating and selecting the most appropriate third-party logistics (3PL) provider from environmental sustainability perspective using a two-phase model based on data envelopment analysis (DEA) and analytic network process (ANP). Design/methodology/approach The study uses an integrated approach of DEA and ANP as an evaluation and selection methodology to select an efficient and requisite 3PL. The integrated model is a sound technique for 3PL evaluation and selection. DEA effectively screens the maximally efficient 3PLs, whereas ANP easily performs the cumbersome process of weighting diverse criteria and ranks various alternatives according to their performance on the basis of these criteria. This study lists the prominent evaluation and selection criteria taking into consideration the environmental sustainability. Finally, a real-life industrial application is presented to demonstrate the proposed method. Findings The current research work is devoted to the emerging research topic of environmental sustainability in logistics industry and supply chain management. The results of study indicate that eco-efficient transportation and 3PLs lead better transportation planning, better inventory and warehouse management, lower inventory cost and sustainable supply chain operations. Also, the applied approach enables the decision makers to better understand the complex relationships of the relevant criteria in the decision-making process. Research limitations/implications This study does not investigate the relationships between environmental performances and differentiation advantage from the perspective of 3PLs. Also, sensitivity analysis is not performed. Practical implications The developed integrated model enables decision analysts to better understand the complete evaluation process of 3PL evaluation and selection considering environmental sustainability perspective. Furthermore, the developed approach provides a more flexible, simple, accurate, effective, and systematic decision support tool for 3PL evaluation and selection. Originality/value The current study is first of its kind to use the integrated approach in evaluation and selection of 3PLs from environmental sustainability perspective considering the inter-dependencies among the evaluation and selection criteria.

Integrating wearable technology products and big data analytics in business strategy

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bishwajit Nayak ◽  
Som Sekhar Bhattacharyya ◽  
Bala Krishnamoorthy
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Technology Adoption ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Product Innovation ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Technology Policy ◽  
Wearable Technology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technology Products

Purpose This study aims to explore the impact of the adoption of wearable technology products for Indian health insurance firms. It identifies the key dynamic capabilities that health insurance firms should build to manage big data generated by wearable technology so as to attain a competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative exploratory study using in-depth personal interviews with 53 Indian health insurance experts was conducted with a semi-structured questionnaire. The data were coded using holistic and pattern codes and then analyzed using the content analysis technique. The findings were based on the thematic and relational intensity analysis of the codes. Findings An empirical model was established where all the propositions were strongly established except for the moderate relationship between wearable technology adoption and product innovation. The study established the nature of the interaction of variables on technology policy, organizational culture, strategic philosophy, product innovation, knowledge management and customer service quality with wearable technology adoption and also ascertained its influence on firm performance and competitive advantage. Research limitations/implications From a dynamic capabilities perspective, this study deliberates on wearable technology adoption in the health insurance context. It also explicates the relationship between the variables on technology policy, organizational culture, strategic philosophy, product innovation, knowledge management and customer service quality with wearable technology adoption on firm performance. Originality/value This study is one of the first studies to add the context of wearable technology and health insurance to the existing body of knowledge on dynamic capabilities and sustainable competitive advantage for the service sector. It would help existing and prospective players in adopting or setting up appropriate business models.

Repositioning the customer support services: the next frontier of competitive advantage

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (7) ◽  
pp. 1787-1804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jagdish Sheth ◽  
Varsha Jain ◽  
Anupama Ambika
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Support Services ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Profit Center ◽  
Support Unit ◽  
Customer Support ◽  
Cost Center ◽  
New Framework

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the present status of customer support services (CSS) and advocate the re-positioning of support services from an administrative cost center to a strategic profit center. Authors demonstrate how customer support or after sales services can be a source of competitive advantage and revenue generation for firms. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a conceptual approach grounded in theoretical foundations of service dominant logic, customer loyalty and customer centricity along with practical illustrations from the industry. Findings Following the tenets of theory, review of existing research and analysis of the industry practices, the authors propose a new framework to enable the repositioning of customer service function. The key propositions include establishing customer support as separate business unit and insights center, introducing a new role of a C-level chief customer support officer to lead the customer support unit, adopting a customer-centric culture and process, enabling frontline IT support and investing in frontline employee skills development. Research limitations/implications Academics should examine the potential of customer support, where the strategic importance is low at present, leading to customer dissatisfaction. The new approach and positioning of customer support calls for a new direction for research in this area focusing on enablers, challenges and further implications. To succeed in this competitive era, firms should be conscious of the value of customer service and undertake concrete actions to generate value for all stakeholders. Practical implications Industry can use the new framework and re-position CSS of the organizations. The CSS unit can be different from other business units in the organizations. The CSS would evolve and emerge from the live customer insights. CSS unit can be managed by the C level chief CSS officer. Customer-centric culture would be developed and front line processes can be made customer-oriented by the officer. Thus, this paper and framework would provide new customer-centric directions to the organizations for effective functioning. Originality/value This is the original piece that has emerged from the experience and expertise of the authors.

Grey-based model for forecasting Mauritius international tourism from different regions

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Medha Pirthee
Keyword(s):  
System Theory ◽  
Grey System Theory ◽  
International Tourism ◽  
Grey System ◽  
Private Companies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
System Models ◽  
Economic Decision Making ◽  
Tourism Sector ◽  
The Government

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the trend and forecast the number of tourists from different regions of the world to Mauritius. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts two grey system models, the even model GM(1,1) and the non-homogeneous discrete grey model (NDGM), to forecast the total number of international tourism to Mauritius and its structure from different regions tourist arrivals to Mauritius for the next three years. Grey system theory models were used to account for uncertainties and the dynamism of the tourism sector environment. The two models were applied as a comparison to obtain more reliable forecasting figures. Findings The results demonstrate that both of the grey system models can be successfully applied with high accuracy for Mauritian tourism prediction, and also the number of tourist arrivals to Mauritius shows a continued augmentation for the upcoming years. Practical implications Forecasting is meaningful since the Government of Mauritius, private companies or any concerned authority can adopt the forecasting methods exposed in this paper for the development of the tourism sector through managerial and economic decision making. Originality/value Mauritius is a charming travel destination. Through this paper, it can be seen that future tourism travel to Mauritius has been successfully predicted based on previous data. Moreover, it seems that the grey system theory models have not been utilised yet as forecasting tools for the tourism sector of Mauritius as opposed to other countries such as China and Taiwan.

Evaluation of outpatient satisfaction and service quality of Pakistani healthcare projects

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 462-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saad Ahmed Javed ◽  
Sifeng Liu
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Grey System Theory ◽  
Public Healthcare ◽  
Grey System ◽  
Healthcare Delivery System ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between outpatient satisfaction and the five constructs of healthcare projects’ service quality in Pakistan using Deng’s grey incidence analysis (GIA) model, absolute degree GIA model (ADGIA), a novel second synthetic degree GIA (SSDGIA) model and two approaches of decision-making under uncertainty.Design/methodology/approachThe study proposes a new synthetic GIA model and demonstrates its feasibility on data (N=221) collected from both public and private sector healthcare projects of Punjab, the most populous province of Pakistan, using a self-administered questionnaire developed using the original SERVQUAL approach.FindingsThe results of decision analysis approach indicated that outpatients’ satisfaction from the private sector healthcare projects is higher as compared to the public healthcare projects’. The results from the proposed model revealed that tangibility and reliability play an important role in shaping the patient satisfaction in the public and private sectors, respectively.Originality/valueThe study is pioneer in evaluating a healthcare system’s service quality using grey system theory. The study proposes the SSDGIA model as a novel method to evaluate parameters comprehensively based on their mutual association (given by absolute degree of grey incidence) and inter-dependencies (given by Deng’s degree of grey incidence), and tests the new model in the given scenario. The study is novel in terms of its analysis of data and modelling. The study also proposes a comprehensive structure of the healthcare delivery system of Pakistan.

Identifying key industry factors of remanufacturing industry using grey incidence analysis

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 398-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenjie Liu ◽  
Jing Zhang ◽  
Chenfan Wu ◽  
Xiangyun Chang
Keyword(s):  
Grey System Theory ◽  
Grey System ◽  
Annual Sale ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Building Area ◽  
Industry Characteristic ◽  
Grey Incidence Analysis ◽  
Incidence Analysis ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Key Industry

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify most favorable (or quasi-preferred) industry characteristics of remanufacturing industry and most favorable (or quasi-preferred) industry factors which have an effect on these characteristics so as to improve these factors. Design/methodology/approach Grey system theory has prominent advantage of using few data and uncertainty information to analyze many factors. Therefore, it is more suited for system analysis than traditional statistical analysis methods like regression analysis, variance analysis and principal component analysis, which require massive data, certain probability distribution in the data and few variant factors. So in this paper, grey incidence analysis method, which is an important part of grey system theory, is used to identify industry characteristics and key industry factor of remanufacturing industry in China and then put forward appropriate industrial policies and countermeasures to improve these industry factors. Findings According to the results of this study, it reveals that there are no most favorable industry characteristics and no most favorable industry factors in remanufacturing industry of China. “Annual sale of remanufacturing industry” is identified as quasi-preferred industry characteristic, and “total number of employees with master degree or above in remanufacturing enterprise” is identified as the quasi-preferred industry factor. “Total building area of remanufacturing enterprise” is referred as the most unfavorable industry factors. Practical implications Judging from the findings of this study, four practical implications are summarized as follows: “annual sale of remanufacturing industry” should be given great importance because it is a quasi-preferred industry characteristic. “Total number of employees with master degree or above in remanufacturing enterprise” and “total number of research institution and university participated in remanufacturing” should be further strengthened by establishing an industry-university-research institute collaboration network, due to the fact that they are the top two quasi-preferred industry factors. “Total investment of remanufacturing industry” and “total annual R&D expenditures” have not played their due role in improving remanufacturing industry, so they should be moderately controlled so as to reduce waste of investment. “Total building area of remanufacturing enterprise” must be strictly controlled because of its little impact on remanufacturing industry. Originality/value In this research, grey incidence analysis is applied to identify key industry factors of remanufacturing industry for the first time. It helps in finding industry factors which are in urgent need of improvement and assists in making appropriate industrial policies and countermeasures to improve them by studying relationships between industry characteristic and industry factors.

First price sealed-bid auction of the grey game improvement model via double-parameter Bayesian estimation

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Deng ◽  
Sifeng Liu ◽  
Zhigeng Fang
Keyword(s):  
Bayesian Estimation ◽  
Historical Data ◽  
Classical Model ◽  
Grey System Theory ◽  
Grey System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sealed Bid ◽  
Grey Number ◽  
Improved Model ◽  
Specific Implementation

PurposeThe improved classical model makes it possible that the evaluation strategy has an optimal tendency, which reveals the purpose of this paper is to facilitate the first price sealed-bid auction more in line with the actual situation. To be more specific, there are several merits in the improvement process. On the one hand, the bid-winning probability can be improved for the bidder; on the other hand, the real market value of the subject matter can be more clearly recognized for the employer.Design/methodology/approachBayesian estimation and grey system theory are referenced in this paper, with the use of double-parameter estimation, little historical data and expert experience. Specific implementation steps are as follows: first of all, using the double-parameter Bayesian estimation to correct the actual valuation of the bid matter v, then introducing the threat factor grey number R in the auction model, giving the improving of the optimal grey quotation and grey expectation utility under the two-party game and finally taking the aerospace component procurement as an example, simulating the bidding process of the bidding parties to arrive at the optimal bid strategy.FindingsThe improved model shows that the optimal strategy will change with the threat factor rather than a fixed value. When the threat factor grey number R follows [0.4, 0.6], the optimal quotation strategy will appear, which means quotation is higher than 50% of the bid matter's valuation.Practical implicationsThe improved model proposed in this paper can strengthen the cost control in the Chinese commercial space process and optimize the pricing strategy for the final launch.Originality/valueThe modified model changes the habit that the bidder's valuation of the bid subject to mainly come from experience and to prompt the model for making full use of little historical data on the foundation of the former. It can reduce the subjective judgment error in the game results; finally, the practical cases are simulated in MATLAB at the same time, and the simulation effect is good, so we can get some more realistic conclusions on this basis.

A grey rough set model for evaluation and selection of software cost estimation methods

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Liu ◽  
Jian-Zhong Qiao
Keyword(s):  
System Theory ◽  
Rough Set ◽  
Cost Estimation ◽  
Estimation Method ◽  
Grey System Theory ◽  
Estimation Methods ◽  
Software Cost Estimation ◽  
Grey System ◽  
Software Cost ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – Due to the limitation of acknowledgment, the complexity of software system and the interference of noises, this paper aims to solve the traditional problem: traditional software cost estimation methods face the challenge of poor and uncertain inputs. Design/methodology/approach – Under such circumstances, different cost estimation methods vary greatly on estimation accuracy and effectiveness. Therefore, it is crucial to perform evaluation and selection on estimation methods against a poor information database. This paper presents a grey rough set model by introducing grey system theory into rough set based analysis, aiming for a better choice of software cost estimation method on accuracy and effectiveness. Findings – The results are very encouraging in the sense of comparison among four machine learning techniques and thus indicate it an effective approach to evaluate software cost estimation method where insufficient information is provided. Practical implications – Based on the grey rough set model, the decision targets can be classified approximately. Furthermore, the grey of information and the limitation of cognition can be overcome during the use of the grey rough interval correlation cluster method. Originality/value – This paper proposed the grey rough set model combining grey system theory with rough set for software cost estimation method evaluation and selection.

Properties of comprehensive incidence degrees

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 426-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Wei ◽  
Kefang Zeng
Keyword(s):  
System Analysis ◽  
Weighted Average ◽  
Grey System Theory ◽  
Grey System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Arithmetic Average ◽  
Power Product ◽  
Weighted Arithmetic ◽  
Geometric Average ◽  
Weighted Geometric Average

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the properties of comprehensive incidence degrees of closeness incidence degrees and similitude incidence degrees. Design/methodology/approach – Based on the new definitions of the closeness incidence degree and the similitude incidence degree, the properties of comprehensive incidence of closeness incidence and similitude incidence are studied in this paper. It is proved that weighted arithmetic average of two closeness incidence degrees as well as power product (including weighted geometric average) of two closeness incidence degrees is still closeness incidence degree; and arithmetic weighted average of two similitude incidence degrees as well as power product (including weighted geometric average) of two similitude incidence degrees is still similitude incidence degree. Mixed weighted arithmetic average of closeness incidence degree and similitude incidence degree and mixed power product (including weighted geometric average) of closeness incidence degree and similitude incidence degree are closeness incidence degrees. Findings – The result shows that the effect of closeness incidence degree is stronger than similitude incidence degree. As long as the weight of closeness incidence degree is not equal to zero, the comprehensive incidence degree results are closeness incidence degrees. Practical implications – Grey incidence degrees have been widely applied in many fields, such as the test of grey model's forecasting effect, the system analysis and so on. The obtained result in this paper is to illustrate two kinds of incidence degrees are incompatible, namely there does not exist both closeness and similitude incidence degree. Originality/value – The paper succeeds in showing that the attempt to get comprehensive incidence degree by arithmetic or geometric weighted average of closeness incidence degree and similitude incidence degree to reflect both closeness and similarity is in vain. And it is undoubtedly a new development in grey system theory.

Explanation of terms of grey numbers and its operations

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 436-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sifeng Liu ◽  
Handan Rui ◽  
Zhigeng Fang ◽  
Yingjie Yang ◽  
Jeffrey Forrest
Keyword(s):  
System Theory ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Grey System Theory ◽  
Grey System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Universal Principles ◽  
Key Terms ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the terms of grey numbers and its operations. Design/methodology/approach The definitions of elementary terms about grey numbers and its operations are presented one by one. Findings The reader could know the basic explanation about the important terms about grey numbers and its operations from this paper. Practical implications Many of the colleagues thought that unified definitions of key terms would be beneficial for both the readers and the authors. Originality/value It is a fundamental work to standardise all the definitions of terms for a new discipline. It is also propitious to spread the universal principles of grey system theory.

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