Comparison of multi-criteria decision-making techniques and application areas

There are many issues that need to be decided in daily life. With the increase in the number of criteria and options in decision problems and the emergence of conflicting situations, it becomes more difficult to make decisions. When all the criteria are considered at the same time, usually no option is better than all other options. Therefore, the solutions of decision problems vary depending on the circumstances, problem definition, solution method and decision maker. Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods are used in solving decision-making problems, sorting options according to certain criteria, and selecting the best option. More than one MCDM method can be used in the same problem, and the results of the methods used may vary. In many studies, it is a separate problem which of the methods that serve the same purpose and offer different ranking results will be used. In recent years, books describing all MCDM techniques together have started to be published. However, in these books, while one method is given after another, no comparison is made with the previous method. This deficiency in the literature has been our source of motivation for us to carry out the study. In this thesis study, value-based and non-value-based MCDM techniques are discussed in chronological order. Cumulative comparisons are presented by comparing the methods with a standard table with the methods given before it. At the same time, the characterization of each MCDM technique was obtained. This study not only revealed the characterizations of the methods, but also offered a solution to the real-life problem in a furniture factory using the methods mentioned in the thesis. As a result of 12 different methods applied in the solution, it was determined that four methods were highly compatible. In order to make the 3PL company selections more effectively in the coming periods, worksheets that automatically make the rankings in MS Excel have also been created for the company.