Abstract—This research presents a fuzzy multi-objective model
for a machine selection problem in a flexible manufacturing system
of a tire company. Two main objectives are minimization of an
average machine error and minimization of the total setup time.
Conventionally, the working team uses trial and error in selecting a
pressing machine for each task due to the complexity and constraints
of the problem. So, both objectives may not satisfy. Moreover, trial
and error takes a lot of time to get the final decision. Therefore, in
this research preemptive fuzzy goal programming model is developed
for solving this multi-objective problem. The proposed model can
obtain the appropriate results that the Decision Making (DM) is
satisfied for both objectives. Besides, alternative choice can be easily
generated by varying the satisfaction level. Additionally, decision
time can be reduced by using the model, which includes all
constraints of the system to generate the solutions. A numerical
example is also illustrated to show the effectiveness of the proposed
model.
Keywords—Machine Selection, Preemptive Fuzzy Goal
Programming, Mixed Integer Programming, Application of Tire
Industry

a b s t r a c t
Managing service quality is vital to retain customer satisfaction and augment revenues for any business
organization. Often it is difficult to assess service quality due to lack of quantifiable measures and limited
data. In this paper, we present a hybrid approach based on SERVQUAL and fuzzy TOPSIS for evaluating
service quality of urban transportation systems. The proposed approach consists of three steps. The first
step involves development of a SERVQUAL based questionnaire to collect data for measuring transportation
service quality. The participants provide linguistic assessments to rate the service quality criteria and
the alternatives. In step 2, the linguistic ratings are combined through fuzzy TOPSIS to generate an overall
performance score for each alternative. The alternative with the highest score is finally chosen. In step 3,
sensitivity analysis is conducted to evaluate the influence of criteria weights on the decision making process.
The strength of the proposed approach is its practical applicability and ability to provide solution under
partial or lack of quantitative information. An application of the proposed approach for evaluation of service
quality of metro in Montreal is provided.

a b s t r a c t
City logistics initiatives are steps taken by municipal administrations to ameliorate the
condition of goods transport in cities and reduce their negative impacts on city residents
and their environment. Examples of city logistics initiatives are urban distribution centers,
congestion pricing, delivery timing and access restrictions. In this paper, we present a
hybrid approach based on Affinity Diagram, AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS for evaluating city logistics
initiatives. Four initiatives namely vehicle sizing restrictions, congestion charging
schemes, urban distribution center and access timing restrictions are considered.
The proposed approach consists of four steps. The first step involves identification of criteria
for assessing performance of city logistics initiatives using Affinity Diagram. The
results are four categories of criteria namely technical, social, economical and environmental.
In step 2, a decision making committee comprising of representatives of city logistics
stakeholders is formed. These stakeholders are shippers, receivers, transport operators,
end consumers and public administrators. The committee members weight the selected
criteria using AHP. In step 3, the decision makers provide linguistic ratings to the alternatives
(city logistics initiatives) to assess their performance against the selected criteria.
These linguistic ratings are then aggregated using fuzzy TOPSIS to generate an overall performance
score for each alternative. The alternative with the highest score is finally chosen
as most suitable city logistics initiative for improving city sustainability. In the fourth step,
we perform sensitivity analysis to evaluate the influence of criteria weights on the selection
of the best alternative.
The proposed approach is novel and can be practically applied for selecting sustainable
city logistics initiatives for cities. Another advantage is its ability to generate solutions
under limited quantitative information. An empirical application of the proposed approach
is provided.

Abstract—The article describes a case study on one of Czech
Republic’s manufacturing middle size enterprises (ME), where due to
the European financial crisis, production lines had to be redesigned
and optimized in order to minimize the total costs of the production
of goods. It is considered an optimization problem of minimizing the
total cost of the work load, according to the costs of the possible
locations of the workplaces, with an application of the Greedy
algorithm and a partial analogy to a Set Packing Problem. The
displacement of working tables in a company should be as a one-toone
monotone increasing function in order for the total costs of
production of the goods to be at minimum. We use a heuristic
approach with greedy algorithm for solving this linear optimization
problem, regardless the possible greediness which may appear and
we apply it in a Czech ME.
Keywords—Czech, greedy algorithm, minimize, total costs

a b s t r a c t
Distribution channel management not only consists of choosing distribution channels. In fact, probably
the most difficult phase of the distribution management starts after this choice. Determining an appropriate
organization strategy for distribution channel management is like a problem of concern to marketing
practitioners and academics as well in this phase. In this study, the organization strategy of
distribution channel management is developed using fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) and hierarchical
fuzzy TOPSIS (HFTOPSIS) for an edible-vegetable oils manufacturer firm operating in Turkey.
The company distributes its products all over the country. Due to the complex structure of the distribution
network, the company wants to decide the organization strategy to manage the distribution channels.
In this paper, the methods of FAHP and HFTOPSIS for evaluating and selecting among the five
organization strategy models for distribution channel management of vegetable oil manufacturer have
been presented. The proposed models include determinants of distribution channel management for edible-
vegetable oil industry; (i) customer profile, (ii) distributor reliability, (iii) the position of competitors
in market, and (iv) managerial and financial perspective. Using FAHP and HFTOPSIS, hybrid based strategy
(KBS), which has the greatest desirability index value after the evaluation among the five alternatives
is found as the best choice. Thus, the case of the vegetable oil manufacturer company provides the
researchers and practitioners to understand in a better way the importance of developing organization
strategy in channel management from a practical point of view.

Abstract I attempt to identify a causal link between the outsourcing of parts of the production process and firm productivity for a large panel of Irish manufacturing firms. Outsourcing is taken to mean the procurement of inputs from outside the boundaries of the firm, with international outsourcing being outsourcing from a foreign provider. Theory suggests that as firms outsource more ‘non-core’ activities to specialized providers, productivity will increase along two channels: in the short-run, the firm will benefit from cheaper or higher-quality inputs, while in the medium term the firm will be able to reallocate resources towards higher value-added activities. The international outsourcing case adds another dimension, in that firms that outsource from abroad can experience further productivity gains from the higher quality and variety of inputs on offer and from exposure to new technologies, practices and knowledge. I test the above hypothesis using a “System GMM” estimator to control for endogeneity in the panel and allow for a lagged dependent variable to be a regressor. I find that international outsourcing leads to productivity gains, but upon closer inspection that firms’ international orientation and type of industry both matter.

Abstract We investigate the impact of international outsourcing on productivity using plant level data for Irish manufacturing. Specifically, we distinguish the effect of outsourcing of materials from services inputs. Moreover, we examine whether the impact on productivity is different for plants being more embedded in international markets through exporting or being part of a multinational. Our results show that productivity benefits only accrue to affiliates of foreignowned multinationals and exporters. In particular, for foreign-owned exporting plants increased international outsourcing of both services and materials is associated with higher productivity, whereas this link only exists for domestic exporters’ outsourcing of materials. Keywords: International outsourcing, productivity, exporting, multinational production

Abstract
Despite the attention that offshore outsourcing currently demands in the public media, there is little empirical evidence on its economic impact. As a consequence of rising fears of job losses associated with the phenomenon, most existing research on the subject is primarily concerned with addressing related labour market issues. The impacts on productivity, however, have received only little attention. This paper surveys the empirical literature on offshore outsourcing and its productivity effects. Due to the small number of existing studies, the survey also includes research that may serve as indirect evidence of the phenomenon’s link to productivity, such as its effect on skill upgrading. The most apparent conclusion drawn from the review is that there appears to be no clear patterns as to how offshore outsourcing affects productivity, and that much depends on both sector and firm-specific characteristics. There are some indications, however, that positive productivity effects from foreign material sourcing depends on the degree to which firms are already globally engaged, but also that such engagements generally could be close to their optimum level in developed economies. There is little existing research on offshoring of services, but it appears that its productivity enhancing effects generally are small in manufacturing plants while being of a somewhat greater magnitude for firms in the services sector.

Abstract
The quantitative multiple criteria decision making methods are practical to use in decision support systems. In this paper
we analyse the quantitative multiple criteria decision making methods and sensitivity analysis methods usage in decision
support systems. Both species of these methods are strongly mathematically based. We take notice of these sensitivity
methods for initial data. Monte Carlo method is applied for the generation of initial data. The sensitivity analysis of
methods TOPSIS and SAW is presented in this paper.
Keywords: decision support systems, decision making, quantitative methods, multiple criteria evaluation, TOPSIS, SAW, sensitivity analysis,
Monte Carlo method.

This paper incorporates plant-level data from the manufacturing sector in Germany to
expand the literature on the impact of outsourcing on firm-level productivity. The 2009
Capgemini Executive Outsourcing Survey (Wilmot, 2009) indicates that nearly threefourths
of the (surveyed) executives believe that outsourcing enables firms to survive in today’s
global economy. They argue that outsourcing makes firms agile and flexible (60 percent),
thereby making them better capable of facing competition, and that the money saved from
outsourcing can facilitate growth (70 percent). However, in an era of high unemployment,
criticism of outsourcing in the developed world is on the rise; and such criticism has found
some support from academic research. Keuschnigg and Ribi (2009) demonstrated that outsourcing
increases both unemployment and the labor income risk of unskilled workers in the
home country. In addition, Zhang (2011) argued that even if outsourcing increases employment
in the aggregate, it may cause net welfare loss through resource misallocation. Such findings
have resulted in a wide range of propositions to reduce outsourcing, either by disincentivizing