Soft operational research methods and multicriteria analysis: exploring soft problems in logistics and supply chain management

Abstract

Logistics and supply chain management have historically been fruitful realms for successful application of traditional, quantitative Operational Research techniques, such as optimization and simulation in vehicle routing, inventory control, location, layout, and other typical problems. These issues can be properly dealt with by mathematical models, since clear and measurable goals and well bounded systems (a single enterprise) frame the basis of the so called hard paradigm of Operational Research. However, logistics and supply chain management are evolving to enterprise collaboration questions, with a multiplicity of stakeholders, points of view and objectives, most of them conflicting. Therefore, assumptions of clarity of purpose, and objective and system unicity from the hard paradigm can hardly be fulfilled. The use of a different paradigm, soft Operational Research, is thus relevant to advance logistic practice. This research intends to evaluate the applicability of soft techniques (problem structuring methods) and multi-criteria analysis to strategic and tactical problems of logistics and supply chain management, such as collaboration and outsourcing. (AU)