Sustainable evaluation of 3PL service for medical waste handling providers in Saudi healthcare using a hybrid fuzzy TOPSIS and clustering method
*Sourour AouadniCorresponding authorsalawadnaa@ub.edu.saDepartment of Business AdministrationCollege of BusinessUniversity of BishaBisha, 61922, Saudi ArabiaView full profile → , Laila Messaoudilailamessaoudi@isggb.u-gabes.tnDepartment of Quantitatives MethodsResearch Unit 3E, Higher Institute of ManagementUniversity of GabesGabes, TunisiaView full profile → , Jalel EuchiJalel.Euchi@fsegs.rnu.tnAffiliation 1Department of Quantitatives MethodsInstitut Supérieur de GestionUniversity of SousseSousse, Rue Abdlaaziz El Behi Bp, 763-4000, TunisiaAffiliation 2Optimization Logistique et Informatique Décisionnelle LaboratoryHigher Institute of Industrial Management, Sfax-Route de Tunis km 10.5University of SfaxTechnopole de Sfax, 3021 - BP 1164, Tunisia0000-0001-6873-5060View full profile →
* Corresponding author · click or hover a name for details
- Received:
- 01 Oct 2024
- Published Online:
- 01 Apr 2026
- Article type:
- Research Article
- Language:
- EN
- Article no.:
- JIOS-1979
- Pages:
- 1–36
Abstract
Keywords
Subject Classifications
References
[1] B. Ageron, S. Benzidia, and M. Bourlakis, “Healthcare logistics and supply chain – issues and future challenges,” Supply Chain Forum: An International Journal, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 1–3 (Jan. 2018), doi: 10.1080/16258312.2018.1433353.
[2] S. Aouadni and J. Euchi, “Using Integrated MMD-TOPSIS to Solve the Supplier Selection and Fair Order Allocation Problem: A Tunisian Case Study,” Logistics, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 8 (Jan. 2022), doi: 10.3390/logistics6010008.
[3] S. Aouadni and I. Aouadni, Eds., Recent Theories and Applications for Multi-Criteria Decision-Making. Advances in Computational Intelligence and Robotics (Oct. 2024), doi: 10.4018/979-8-3693-6502-1.
[4] S. Aouadni, I. Aouadni, and A. Taghipour, “Using Ordinal Priority Approach With Confidence-Level Measurement for Third-Party Logistics Provider Selection in the Tunisian Healthcare Sector,” in Advances in Logistics, Operations, and Management Science, pp. 404–429 (Mar. 2024), doi: 10.4018/979-8-3693-1578-1.ch020.
[5] S. Aouadni and I. Aouadni, “Fuzzy LMAW Method for Digital Marketing Technologies Assessment in Industry 4.0 Age: Saudi Food Company Study Case,” Journal of Ecohumanism, vol. 3, no. 8 (Jan. 2025), doi: 10.62754/joe.v3i8.5744.
[6] N. H. Baharin, N. F. Rashidi, and N. F. Mahad, “Manager selection using Fuzzy TOPSIS method,” Journal of Physics: Conference Series, vol. 1988, no. 1, pp. 012057 (Jul. 2021), doi: 10.1088/1742-6596/1988/1/012057.
[7] P. S. Bharti, “Two-step optimization of electric discharge machining using neural network based approach and TOPSIS,” Journal of Interdisciplinary Mathematics, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 81–96 (Jan. 2020), doi: 10.1080/09720502.2020.1741222.
[8] F. E. Boran, S. Genç, M. Kurt, and D. Akay, “A multi-criteria intuitionistic fuzzy group decision making for supplier selection with TOPSIS method,” Expert Systems with Applications, vol. 36, no. 8, pp. 11363–11368 (Oct. 2009), doi: 10.1016/j.eswa.2009.03.039.
[9] G. Büyüközkan and F. Göçer, “Selection of medical waste logistic firms by using AHP-TOPSIS methodology,” International Journal of Business and Bioscience (2016). [Online]. Available: https://www.iaras.org/iaras/filedownloads/ijbb/2016/021-0003.pdf
[10] S. Caliskan, E. Kartal, S. Balekoglu, and F. Çalışkan, “Using machine learning algorithms to cluster and classify stone pine (Pinus pinea L.) populations based on seed and seedling characteristics,” European Journal of Forest Research, vol. 143, no. 5, pp. 1575–1591 (Jun. 2024), doi: 10.1007/s10342-024-01716-7.
[11] A. Chauhan and S. P. Singh, “Selection of healthcare waste disposal firms using a multi-method approach,” Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 295, p. 113117 (Oct. 2021), doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113117.
[12] I. Dadashpour and A. Bozorgi-Amiri, “Evaluation and Ranking of Sustainable Third-party Logistics Providers using the D-Analytic Hierarchy Process,” International Journal of Engineering, vol. 33, no. 11 (Nov. 2020), doi: 10.5829/ije.2020.33.11b.15.
[13] E. S. Dalmaijer, C. L. Nord, and D. E. Astle, “Statistical power for cluster analysis,” BMC Bioinformatics, vol. 23, no. 1 (May 2022), doi: 10.1186/s12859-022-04675-1.
[14] Dwivedi, N., Sharma, H., Shanker, S., & Barve, A. Third-party logistics in bio-medical waste system: a path towards a risk-free sector. Process Integration and Optimization for Sustainability, 6(4), 1075-1102 (2022).
[15] J. Euchi and S. Frifita, “Hybrid metaheuristic to solve the ‘one-to-many-to-one’ problem,” Management Decision, vol. 55, no. 1, pp. 136–155 (Jan. 2017), doi: 10.1108/MD-03-2016-0155.
[16] Eftekhari, S. H., Memariani, M., Maleki, Z., Aleali, M., & Kianoush, P. Hydraulic flow unit and rock types of the Asmari Formation, an application of flow zone index and fuzzy C-means clustering methods. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 5003, (2024). doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-55741-y.
[17] J. Elkington, “Partnerships from Cannibals with forks: The Triple Bottom Line of 21st-century Business,” Environmental Quality Management, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 37–51 (1997).
[18] A. Eydi and S. Rastgar, “A DEA model with dual-role factors and fuzzy data for selecting third-party reverse logistics provider, case study: Hospital waste collection,” Ain Shams Engineering Journal (Aug. 2021), doi: 10.1016/j.asej.2021.07.011.
[19] J. Euchi, “Do drones have a realistic place in a pandemic fight for delivering medical supplies in healthcare systems problems?,” Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 182–190 (Jun. 2020), doi: 10.1016/j.cja.2020.06.006.
[20] J. Euchi, Transportation, Logistics, and Supply Chain Management in Home Healthcare. IGI Global (2019), doi: 10.4018/978-1-7998-0268-6.
[21] B. B. Gardas, R. D. Raut, and B. E. Narkhede, “Analysing the 3PL service provider’s evaluation criteria through a sustainable approach,” International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. 68, no. 5, pp. 958–980 (Jun. 2019), doi: 10.1108/IJPPM-04-2018-0154.
[22] J. Euchi, D. Bouzidi, and Z. Bouzid, “Interpretive Structural Modeling Technique to Analyze the Interactions Between the Factors Influencing the Performance of the Reverse Logistics Chain,” Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 43–55 (Nov. 2018), doi: 10.1007/s40171-018-0200-1.
[23] J. Euchi, M. Masmoudi, and P. Siarry, “Home health care routing and scheduling problems: A literature review,” 4OR (Jun. 2022), doi: 10.1007/s10288-022-00516-2.
[24] Ö. F. Görçün, A. Aytekin, S. Korucuk, and E. B. Tirkolaee, “Evaluating and selecting sustainable logistics service providers for medical waste disposal treatment in the healthcare industry,” Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 408, p. 137194 (Jul. 2023), doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137194.
[25] C.-L. Hwang and K. Yoon, Methods for Multiple Attribute Decision Making. Berlin: Springer (1981).
[26] M. Oroojeni Mohammad Javad, M. Darvishi, and A. Oroojeni Mohammad Javad, “Green supplier selection for the steel industry using BWM and fuzzy TOPSIS: A case study of Khouzestan steel company,” Sustainable Futures, vol. 2, p. 100012 (2020), doi: 10.1016/j.sftr.2020.100012.
[27] N. Kafa, Y. Hani, and A. El Mhamedi, “A Fuzzy Multi Criteria Approach for Evaluating Sustainability Performance of Third-Party Reverse Logistics Providers,” in Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 8764, pp. 270–277 (2014), doi: 10.1007/978-3-662-44736-9_33.
[28] D. Kannan, A. B. L. de S. Jabbour, and C. J. C. Jabbour, “Selecting green suppliers based on GSCM practices: Using fuzzy TOPSIS applied to a Brazilian electronics company,” European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 233, no. 2, pp. 432–447 (Mar. 2014), doi: 10.1016/j.ejor.2013.07.023.
[29] Y. Li, A. Diabat, and C.-C. Lu, “Leagile supplier selection in Chinese textile industries: A DEMATEL approach,” Annals of Operations Research, vol. 287, no. 1, pp. 303–322 (Nov. 2019), doi: 10.1007/s10479-019-03453-2.
[30] X. Luo and W. Liao, “Collaborative Reverse Logistics Network for Infectious Medical Waste Management during the COVID-19 Outbreak,” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 19, no. 15, p. 9735 (Aug. 2022), doi: 10.3390/ijerph19159735.
[31] M. Mehri, S. Sadeghi, and S. M. Hashemy Shahdany, “A fuzzy TOPSIS-based approach for prioritizing low-impact development methods in high-density residential areas,” Water Science & Technology (Jan. 2024), doi: 10.2166/wst.2024.006.
[32] L. Messaoudi, “Cluster analysis for ethical portfolio optimization problem using fuzzy chance constrained programming,” Environmental Economics and Policy Studies (Oct. 2024), doi: 10.1007/s10018-024-00420-5.
[33] A. R. Mishra and P. Rani, “Multi-criteria healthcare waste disposal location selection based on Fermatean fuzzy WASPAS method,” Complex & Intelligent Systems (Jun. 2021), doi: 10.1007/s40747-021-00407-9.
[34] N. B. Nila and J. Roy, “A new hybrid MCDM framework for third-party logistic provider selection under sustainability perspectives,” Expert Systems with Applications, vol. 234, p. 121009 (Dec. 2023), doi: 10.1016/j.eswa.2023.121009.
[35] E. U. Oti and M. O. Olusola, “Overview of Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering Methods,” British Journal of Computer, Networking and Information Technology, vol. 7, no. 2 (Apr. 2024). [Online]. Available: https://abjournals.org/bjcnit/papers/volume-7/issue-2/overview-of-agglomerative-hierarchical-clustering-methods/
[36] M.M Rahman, M. Bodrud-Doza, M.D. Griffiths, M.A. Mamun. Biomedical waste amid COVID-19: perspectives from Bangladesh. The Lancet Global Health, 8(10), e1262, (2020). doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30349-1.
[37] N. V. Thanh, N. H. Hai, and T. Kim, “Fuzzy MCDM Model for Selection of Infectious Waste Management Contractors,” Computers, Materials & Continua, vol. 72, no. 2, pp. 2191–2202 (Jan. 2022), doi: 10.32604/cmc.2022.026357.
[38] E. B. Tirkolaee and A. E. Torkayesh, “A Cluster-based Stratified Hybrid Decision Support Model under Uncertainty: Sustainable Healthcare Landfill Location Selection,” Applied Intelligence (Mar. 2022), doi: 10.1007/s10489-022-03335-4.
[39] L. Tu, Y. Lv, Y., Zhang,X. Cao. Logistics service provider selection decision making for healthcare industry based on a novel weighted density-based hierarchical clustering. Advanced Engineering Informatics, 48, 101301 (2021). doi: 10.1016/j.aei.2021.101301.
[40] C.N. Wang, N.A.T. Nguyen, T.T. Dang, C.M. Lu. A compromised decision-making approach to third-party logistics selection in sustainable supply chain using fuzzy AHP and fuzzy VIKOR methods. Mathematics, 9(8), 886, (2021). doi: 10.3390/math9080886.
[41] S. A. Wilujeng, “Medical Waste Management in Private Clinics in Surabaya and Factors Affecting It,” International Journal of GEOMATE, vol. 16, no. 55 (Mar. 2019), doi: 10.21660/2019.55.4606.
[42] Z. Yong, L. Xuhong, M. Haijun, M. Chenglin. Designing a hazardous waste reverse logistics network for third party logistics supplier under the fuzzy environment. In 2007 IEEE International Conference on Service Operations and Logistics, and Informatics (pp. 1-6). IEEE., (2007, August) doi: 10.1109/SOLI.2007.4383920.
[43] L. A. Zadeh, “Fuzzy sets,” Information and Control, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 338–353 (Jun. 1965), doi: 10.1016/S0019-9958(65)90241-X.
[44] N. Zarbakhshnia, H. Soleimani, and H. Ghaderi, “Sustainable third-party reverse logistics provider evaluation and selection using fuzzy SWARA and developed fuzzy COPRAS in the presence of risk criteria,” Applied Soft Computing, vol. 65, pp. 307–319 (Apr. 2018), doi: 10.1016/j.asoc.2018.01.023.




