Comparative analysis of fuzzy multi-criteria decision making methods for selecting sustainable battery suppliers of battery swapping station

Sustainable battery supplier (SBS) selection of battery-swapping station belongs to a complex multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem due to the fact that included multiple and often conflicting criteria. To this end, this study presents a comparative analysis of selecting SBS using four fuzzy MCDM methods, and a case is executed to compare the ranking results obtained by the proposed four MCDM methods. From the weighting results of criteria, it is observed that economic criteria is the first priority in all evaluation criteria, followed by the technical, social, and environmental criteria in descending order. In terms of the priorities and recommendations of multiple SBSs for the battery swapping station, the comparative analysis demonstrates that the rankings of all alternatives obtained by all approaches are in high agreement, except that determined by fuzzy VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) slightly varies from the other three approaches, and none of these MCDM methods are deemed to be absolutely perfect. If possible, we recommend that more than one method should be applied to the same problem to provide a more comprehensive decision basis. If not possible, it is suggested to use the fuzzy VIKOR since it shows more superior potential in sustainable supplier decision analysis.

Automated summary

This study compares four fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making methods for selecting a sustainable battery supplier (SBS) for a battery-swapping station. The results of a case analysis demonstrate that economic criteria are the most important, and fuzzy VIKOR shows greater potential in sustainable supplier decision analysis.