Emergency Logistics Distribution Center Selection Using Fuzzy AHP and Fuzzy VIKOR Methods

Abstract

Disasters that directly affect human health negatively affect the supply chain. The construction of emergency centres is critical so that aid can quickly reach people in the region where disasters occur. By choosing the most appropriate location, transportation and logistics costs can be effectively reduced, emergency aid can be delivered faster, and the negative effects of disasters can be minimised. Thus, location selection research is popular in many different fields. Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) methods are widely used in location selection problems. This study aims to determine the best distribution centre for emergency logistics (EL) using hybrid MCDM methods. The study used seven criteria and 11 alternative locations in Kahramanmara & scedil; province of Turkey. In the research, the criteria used to determine the potential locations of distribution centres were weighted with the fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. The alternative locations were ranked using weighted criteria using the fuzzy Vlsekriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) method. The research emphasises the importance of considering different criteria and using MCDM methods for the location selection of distribution centres. The research results help disaster managers and policymakers decide to place humanitarian logistics distribution centres strategically.