Analysis of Decision Parameters for Route Plans and Their Importance for Sustainability: An Exploratory Study Using the TOPSIS Technique

Alice Vasconcelos Nobre, Caio Cézar Rodrigues Oliveira, Denilson Ricardo de Lucena Nunes, André Cristiano Silva Melo, Gil Eduardo Guimarães, Rosley Anholon and Vitor William Batista Martins
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Alice Vasconcelos Nobre: Production Engineering Course, State University of Pará, Castanhal 68745-000, Brazil
Caio Cézar Rodrigues Oliveira: Production Engineering Course, State University of Pará, Castanhal 68745-000, Brazil
Denilson Ricardo de Lucena Nunes: Department of Production Engineering, State University of Pará, Castanhal 68745-000, Brazil
André Cristiano Silva Melo: Postgraduate Program in Technology, Natural Resources and Sustainability in the Amazon (PPGTEC/CCNT/UEPA), Department of Production Engineering, State University of Pará, Belém 66095-015, Brazil
Gil Eduardo Guimarães: Production Engineering Course, Universidade de Cruz Alta, Cruz Alta 98005-972, Brazil
Rosley Anholon: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Campinas, Campinas 13083-860, Brazil
Vitor William Batista Martins: Postgraduate Program in Technology, Natural Resources and Sustainability in the Amazon (PPGTEC/CCNT/UEPA), Department of Production Engineering, State University of Pará, Belém 66095-015, Brazil

Logistics, 2022, vol. 6, issue 2, 1-12

Abstract: Background: This study aimed to identify the most widespread performance objectives for the vehicle routing problem, the degree of comparative importance attributed to each of these performance objectives in the opinion of professionals in the logistics area working in Brazil and also relate them to aspects of sustainability considering environmental, economic and social issues. Methods: To this end, a literature review was carried out in the area and a survey was developed with professionals through a structured questionnaire. The collected data were treated using the TOPSIS multi-criteria technique. Results: The results indicate that the performance objectives in route plans “level of service”, “total number of vehicles” and “total distance travelled” are the ones that, in the opinion of the professionals participating in the research, have greater importance in the planning and elaboration of plan routes and that such objectives directly impact the sustainable results of a given organization. Conclusions: The results can serve as a basis for researchers in the area who aim to broaden the debates on this topic and for logistics operations managers who work directly with planning and elaboration of route plans and who aim to make their operations more sustainable. Therefore, this research addresses the literature gap by identifying which performance objectives should be considered in the elaboration of route plans and how they relate to sustainability guidelines. It is noteworthy that no other study with a similar objective was identified in the literature.

Keywords: vehicle routing problem; sustainability; TOPSIS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L8 L80 L81 L86 L87 L9 L90 L91 L92 L93 L98 L99 M1 M10 M11 M16 M19 R4 R40 R41 R49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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