Application of a Decision Model by Using an Integration of AHP and TOPSIS Approaches within Humanitarian Operation Life Cycle

Abstract

Emergency logistics is one of the most important parts of disaster relief operations. Quick and adequate decision making in this sector is vital but sometimes hard to achieve. This issue is currently faced by several humanitarian organizations, where the high turnover of staff and the lack of adequate tools make it hard to learn from past experiences. Choosing the most appropriate supplier, the adapted warehouse and transportation means is a complicated task. Indeed, on the one hand there are many criteria to take into account in the decision-making process, and on the other hand the relative importance of those criteria is changing over time. Existing academic works on this issue are very difficult to implement on real case scenarios as they do not propose practical solutions. In this paper, a decision model which evolves over time, depending on operations progresses is proposed. Selection of supplier, warehouse and vehicle are taken into consideration thanks to the Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approach. In order to achieve a proper decision, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used first to analyze the structure of alternatives selection problem and to determine weights of criteria. Then Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method is used to obtain final ranking in a four-phases of humanitarian operation life cycle. A numerical example based on preliminary data from the French Red Cross including the sensitivity analysis is presented to clarify and validate the methodology.

A fuzzy AHP-TOPSIS approach to supply partner selection in continuous aid humanitarian supply chains

“…Supply partner selection is a strategic decision as the desired outcome of continuous-aid humanitarian supplies is long-term sustainability (Saksrisathaporn et al 2016). The commercial supply management and partner selection criteria described in the literature are less relevant to humanitarian networks, not least because their relative importance changes over time as the emergency response progresses (Gutjahr and Nolz 2016).…”

“…The commercial supply management and partner selection criteria described in the literature are less relevant to humanitarian networks, not least because their relative importance changes over time as the emergency response progresses (Gutjahr and Nolz 2016). The quantity and quality of available data also evolve with the process, hence supply chain priorities continually change and call for humanitarian supply chain agility (Saksrisathaporn et al 2016).…”

“…The integrated AHP and TOPSIS approach of transforming qualitative data into their equivalent quantitative measures is recognized as one of the most efficient and preferred decision-making methods (Taylan et al 2014). Saksrisathaporn et al (2016) recently used this approach for humanitarian-operation life-cycle integration studies.…”

Multi-Biological Laboratory Examination Framework for the Prioritization of Patients with COVID-19 Based on Integrated AHP and Group VIKOR Methods

“…The procedure of AHP method is represented by the following steps. 74,75,93 Multi-Biological Laboratory Examination Framework for the Prioritization of Patients with COVID- Table 3. Prioritization DM.…”

Based Multiple Heterogeneous Wearable Sensors: A Smart Real-Time Health Monitoring Structured for Hospitals Distributor

“…This section presents the steps for assigning proper weights to the multi-service criteria by using AHP. This procedure comprises six steps [65], [66].…”