A combined MCDM approach for evaluation and selection of third-party reverse logistics partner for Indian electronics industry

• Identification of the evaluation criteria for 3rd party partner selection in reverse supply chains.
• To finalize and prioritize the identified criteria specific to Indian electronics Industry using Fuzzy AHP.
• To assist in the selection of the best 3rd party reverse logistics partner among possible alternatives using VIKOR.
• To analyze combined MCDM framework to select the best 3rd party reverse logistics for real case company.

Reverse logistics (RL) practices are gaining attention because of environmental concern, enforced regulation and social issues; these practices are widely adopted by industries through reverse logistics partners. However, the evaluation and selection of the reverse logistics partner is a very critical decision, involving complexity due to existence of numerous related factors. Hence, it is considered as multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) problem. In this study an attempt has been made to evaluate and select reverse logistics partner (RLP). This paper presents a combined model based on Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) for evaluation and ranking of selection criteria and Vlsekriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) for the final selection of reverse logistics partner. A case of Indian Electronics Company demonstrates the application of the proposed framework. Sensitivity analysis is also performed to verify the robustness of the proposed approach. This study will benefits Indian electronics organizations in evaluation and selection of third party RL partners while achieving efficiency and effectiveness in RL practices.