Application of Multi-Criteria Evaluation Method to Analyze the Meanings of the International Logistics Performance Index (LPI)

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According to the Logistics Performance Index (LPI) released by the World Bank, from the beginning of 2007 to the fifth edition of 2016, questionnaire surveys were used to allow freight forwarders and courier companies in various countries to target the countries in which the trading partners are located. The score of the logistics environment is from 1 to 5 points. The total number of countries in the previous reports ranged from 150 to 160. The ranking of national performance was ranked according to the score. It had an absolute leading concept. At the same time, it found that the scores between countries were very close to each other, only the scores were high or low. Ranking and commenting on the logistics environment performance of various countries may not be able to see the significance of the gap in logistics strength between countries. Therefore, this study introduces the concept of clustering and uses the TOPSIS method of the multi-evaluation method to reanalyze the original LPI index scores. In this study, 125 countries with scores in five reports were selected as the study objects. In addition, 12 Asian neighboring countries around the country were selected for comparison. The cluster analysis method in SPSS was used to analyze the data, and countries were divided into leading group, middle group, and backward group, to observe the performance of each group in the past. In addition, this study uses TOPSIS method to calculate the relative distance values of the six sub-indicators, and obtain the relative degree of the total LPI scores of each country, and compare the difference between the original results and the TOPSIS results. In the cluster analysis results, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan were found to have performed in the first half of the leading group and formed a small group; Taiwan, Korea, China, and Malaysia had performed in the second half of the leading group. In the TOPSIS results, we found that our country’s performance in 2016 has regressed. As a result, South Korea, which has been improved, has surpassed the rest of the country, followed by China, which has shown progress, and has maintained a certain gap with Malaysia. The gap between them has narrowed, reminding us again. Should enhance the logistics environment. In addition, the results of TOPSIS rankings are roughly the same as those in the original LPI rankings, with about half of the rankings, but the magnitude of the changes is small. Overall, the cluster analysis and TOPSIS method can indeed provide more observations and implications in analyzing LPI results.