Application of an integrated model with MCDM and IPA to evaluate the service quality of transshipment port

Abstract

It is often to solve complex decision-making problems in the marine transportation environment, such as the evaluation of service quality and the location choice of ports. In this paper, an integrated model with multiple-criteria decision making (MCDM) and importance-performance analysis (IPA) is presented and then is applied to solve the problem of service quality evaluation of transshipment port. The MCDM approach can be used to deal with both quantitative data and qualitative ratings simultaneously. The IPA approach can be applied to realize the shortcomings of service quality of ports and rank the ranking of strategies for improving service quality of transshipment port. Finally, some useful suggestions for improving the service quality of ports are given in the paper. © 2013 Chien-Chang Chou and Ji-Feng Ding.