Evaluating the Efficiencies of Logistics Centers with Fuzzy Logic: The Case of Turkey †

Abstract

The primary actor in today’s economic life, forming the backbone of the production-consumption cycle, is the distribution activities. Logistics centers (LCs) are organized areas where these activities are carried out together. Therefore, the efficiency and effectiveness of distribution activities are crucial for sustainability. This study incorporates fuzzy logic theory into the framework of data envelopment analysis (DEA) to measure the efficiency of LCs. Classical DEA assumes input and output data are precisely measured, making the efficiency scores unreliable and inconsistent when data precision is not always possible. The adoption of fuzzy logic is primarily to overcome possible uncertainties, errors, and ambiguities in data acquisition, preventing incorrect results. Hence, an approach assumes the data lie within specific intervals, was adopted to calculate the efficiencies of LCs based on α-cut levels. Officially obtained data on nine input and one output variable from twelve LCs operating in Turkey were used to calculate efficiency scores. As a result of the study, Köseköy/Izmit, Halkali/Istanbul, and Yenice/Mersin LCs were found to be fully efficient considering both lower and upper bound efficiencies. Moreover, the efficiency calculations using Fuzzy-DEA allowed for a more precise evaluation of LCs with high data sensitivity.