Evaluation of service quality in cargo transport sector: AHP and TOPSIS methods

The purpose of this research is to determine the factors affecting service quality at cargo transport sector, to calculate the significance levels of those determined factorsand to evaluate three choosen cargo campanies considering their calculated significance levels which are determined before. Individual and corporate cargo customers and cargo transport service providers had been interviewed for this analysis. As a result of interviews, three main criterions and three sub criterions for each main criterion, which affects cargo service, have been created. Created main and sub criterions have been analyzed separetely for individual and corporate customers according to AHP method, and then three cargo companies which are selected with using AHP method results have been analysed again separetely for individual and corporate customers using the method of TOPSIS. Lastly, AHP and TOPSIS methods were compared. Analysis of AHP method has been processed by using Expert Choice program and the analysis of TOPSIS method has been processed by using MS Excel. In conformity with the study a survey has been prepared, reliability and validity tests and pre-application of survey have been done. After than, this survey has been applied to 130 participants which is composed of 110 individual and 20 corporate customers.According to research results, in terms of service quality, the reliability of the cargo company is the most important main criterion for individual and corporate customers. Other main criterions, service accessibility and sensitivity towards customershave received nearly the same values. When the cargo companies have been evaluated according to. AHP and TOPSIS models, both of individual and corporate customers stated that cargo company A has the higher level of quality. However, according to two methods there is small difference between the cargo campanies in terms of quality which is stated by the corporate customers. Key Words: Cargo Transport Sector, Service Quality, TOPSIS, AHP, Expert Choice.