A Combined AHP-TOPSIS Approach for Evaluating the Process of Innovation and Integration of Management Systems in the Logistic Sector

摘要

Logistics is increasingly essential for the economy and social development. Statistics show incremental contributions in GDP, job creation, and in the movement of goods worldwide, connecting suppliers with companies and distributors and stimulating different economic sectors of manufacturing and services. However, the challenges of the logistics sector include optimizing its operations, reducing costs, and generating an offer of services with added values for its clients and interest groups. In this sense, innovation and management systems can support companies in the sector in the search for competitive advantages and operational efficiency aligned with corporate strategy and the environment. Different models and methodologies have been developed to work in an integrated way on innovation processes and management systems, with a focus on continuous improvement where evaluation and development are crucial to identifying the level of performance, gaps, and improvement strategies. Besides, the use of multi-criteria decision methodologies was identified in the scientific literature as an objective approach and easy to implement in companies, but of little application in the evaluation of innovation and the integration of management systems for the logistics sector. This paper presents the application of a combined multi-criteria decision-making methodology to evaluate the innovation process in conjunction with the integration of management systems used in the logistics sector. First, the Analytic Hierarchy Process AHP is applied to determine the weights of each criterion and sub-criterion through qualitative pair comparisons. Then, The Technique for Order of Preferences by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is used to evaluate three big companies of the logistic sector considering their ability to develop the process of innovation under criteria associated with Integrated Management Systems (Quality, Environmental, Health, and Safety). A case study is presented to validate the combined approach.