An approach of selecting cold chain logistics service provider based on SNAand FCE method

In this paper, an integrated decision-making methodology is proposed to solve the subjectivity and fuzziness in the selection of cold chain logistics service providers (LSPs). Firstly, the social network analysis (SNA) method is applied to select the evaluation criteria of cold chain LSPs, which is based on the systematic literature analysis. Then, a novel combination weighting method that combines the advantages of entropy weight (EW) method and improved analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is constructed to calculate the weight of criteria. Further, the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE) method is utilized to generate a ranking order of providers and recommend the optimal provider. Finally, the illustrative example and comparison analysis are provided to prove the validity and feasibility of the approach. In addition, a sensitivity analysis is presented to discuss the stability of the proposed method. In conclusion, this paper innovatively constructs an index system of cold chain LSPs evaluation and selection, and the process of evaluation and selection is also objective.