Selection of Third-Party Reverse Logistics Partners Using Multi-criteria Decision Making: A Case Study of EV Industry

Reverse logistics has become one of the most crucial aspects of the supply chains of various industries including automobiles, electronics, e-commerce, pharmaceutical etc. due to an increasing focus on efficient disposal and reuse of end-of-life products (EOL) in order to extract the critical components out of them. With the rapid increase in electric vehicles adoption, the disposal of the batteries and crucial electronic components with embedded semi-conductor chips has become a concern since they contain costly and environmental unfriendly materials. For companies in the EV space to remain focused on their core expertise and control costs its essential to find the right third-party reverse logistics provider (3PRLP). This paper identified 15 selection criteria for 3PRLP in collaboration with a company in the EV industry and used multi-criteria decision-making techniques like analytical hierarchy process (AHP) along with TOPSIS, VIKOR and PROMETHEE to come up with a decision support system that helps managers and leaders select the right partner for their business. From a pool of eight shortlisted 3RPRLP a ranking was created and compared across the three techniques, two of out of three agreed on an alternative confirming the best choice for the company.