Identification and ranking of key factors impacting efficiency of Indian shipping logistics sector

Shipping logistics is one of the very important criteria which can directly and indirectly affect the economy and GDP of any country. Shipping logistics depends on various factors which have been addressed by several authors in their previous studies. Studies in this literature are focused on selecting the most impactful factors among all the criteria. Methods used in this literature are fuzzy Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy Technique for order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) for multi-criteria decision analysis. These methods also helped in this literature to develop a new hybrid method “fuzzy TOPSIS AHP”. There have been no studies involving maritime logistics with comparative analysis of multi-criteria decision making i.e., fuzzy AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS AHP. The literature involved large number of expert opinions on the factor prioritization of maritime logistics. Factors selected for prioritization are Environmental Sustainability, Supply and Demand, Operations and Port Selection. However, the research showed that the comparative analysis of the results was quite opposite to one another and proposed a new way for researchers to use the hybrid method of fuzzy TOPSIS AHP method in future research. The study aimed to improve the existing maritime model which can help professionals to get connected with the maritime logistics firms. The study also aims to contribute this model for researchers in their study related to maritime logistics.