After-sales indicators in the liquefied petroleum gas industry: a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making approach in an uncertain environment

Many stakeholders are involved in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) after-sales service. Using soft computing, we rank the after-sales service of Iranian LPG companies in terms of global competitors' best practices, comparing four global companies that offer after-sales services as benchmarks. Fuzzy importance and performance analysis (FIPA) was used to identify customary after-sales performance indicators. Then, we used step-wise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) to determine their relative weights. Using fuzzy complex proportional assessment (FCOPRAS), we ranked the top 12 Iranian LPG companies in terms of market share. FIPA, SWARA, and FCOPRAS are combined in this paper for the first time to identify the most important factors for ranking LPG companies in the world-class after-sales services category.

Automated summary

This study uses soft computing to rank Iranian LPG companies' after-sales service in terms of global competitors' best practices, comparing with four global companies as benchmarks. Fuzzy importance and performance analysis (FIPA) is used to identify customary after-sales performance indicators, and then step-wise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) is employed to determine their relative weights. Using fuzzy complex proportional assessment (FCOPRAS), the top 12 Iranian LPG companies are ranked in terms of market share. This paper combines FIPA, SWARA, and FCOPRAS for the first time to identify the most important factors for ranking LPG companies in the world-class after-sales services category.