Applying catastrophe progression method to evaluate the service quality of cold chain logistics

Abstract Logistics service quality (LSQ) is one of the key influential factors in the success of an ecommerce business. In view of the complexity of the topic, this paper proposes a novel model for fresh ecommerce cold chain LSQ evaluation based on the catastrophe progression method. In the proposed methodology, first an index system for evaluating the fresh ecommerce cold chain LSQ is established from the perspective of service recipients. Then, the comprehensive weight of each evaluation index is determined using a combination weighting approach based on maximizing deviations and fuzzy set theory. The priority weights and the ranking of the indices are determined using the catastrophe progression method. Finally, the model is applied in a case study of two representative enterprises. The study demonstrates the validity and practical applicability of the proposed model. Also, based on the evaluation results and findings, some improvement suggestions are made for improving the cold chain LSQ of similar kinds of fresh ecommerce companies.