Designing an ANP-TOPSIS Framework for Tactical Planning in Synchromodal Freight Transport

This paper proposes a framework based on the Analytic Network Process (ANP) and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) for the tactical planning of a synchromodal freight transport operation. The motivation stems from the lack of a comprehensive identification, analysis, and categorization of the factors influencing tactical planning in synchromodal logistics and their evaluation for integration into decision-making. We develop a Decision Support System (DSS) to select the most suitable network configuration for a synchromodal operation based on the critical factors of tactical planning, considering 17 criteria into five dimensions. The framework has been applied to a real case study of a Spanish transport company considering different network configurations from Martorell (Spain) to Wolfsburg (Germany). The results show that the most relevant criteria for tactical planning are the legal conditions, the incentive policies for the choice of intermodal services, the level of flexibility in transport operation, the number of external logistics organizations in the region for intermodal services, and the level of available transport resources.