Sustainable Urban Delivery Vehicle Selection in Vietnam: A Hybrid Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Approach
Received: 12 February 2026 | Revised: 27 February 2026 | Accepted: 15 March 2026 | Online: 6 June 2026
Corresponding author: Minh Nhat Nguyen
Abstract
E-commerce growth has intensified last-mile home delivery in dense urban areas, where operators must execute multi-stop tours under high stop density, volatile traffic, and tight delivery windows. In Vietnam, van procurement requires balancing the total cost of ownership, operational feasibility, and sustainability, while electrification is influenced by purchase incentives and charging availability. Although Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) is widely used for vehicle appraisal, limited evidence exists regarding whether rankings remain stable across decision logics under Vietnam-specific operating conditions. This study derives criterion weights using the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (Fuzzy AHP) and synthesizes four ranking methods through ensemble aggregation: the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), the VIseKriterijumska optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR), the Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment of Evaluations II (PROMETHEE II), and the Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS). Seven urban delivery vans representing internal combustion and electric engines are evaluated, and robustness is assessed using systematic weight-perturbation scenarios and rank-agreement analysis. The results demonstrate strong cross-method agreement, with an electric van achieving the highest performance across all methods and perturbation settings. These findings provide Vietnam-specific evidence that electrification represents a robust procurement outcome under the evaluated criteria and decision structures.
Keywords:
urban delivery vehicles, Fuzzy AHP, MCDM, sustainabilityReferences
N. Boysen, S. Fedtke, and S. Schwerdfeger, "Last-Mile Delivery Concepts: A Survey from an Operational Research Perspective," OR Spectrum, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 1–58, Mar. 2021.
S. F. W. T. Lim, X. Jin, and J. S. Srai, "Consumer-Driven E-Commerce: A Literature Review, Design Framework, and Research Agenda on Last-Mile Logistics Models," International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. 48, no. 3, pp. 308–332, Mar. 2018.
R. Mangiaracina, A. Perego, A. Seghezzi, and A. Tumino, "Innovative Solutions to Increase Last-Mile Delivery Efficiency in B2C E-Commerce: A Literature Review," International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. 49, no. 9, pp. 901–920, Nov. 2019.
T. Vanelslander, L. Deketele, and D. Van Hove, "Commonly Used E-Commerce Supply Chains for Fast Moving Consumer Goods: Comparison and Suggestions for Improvement," International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 243–256, Jun. 2013.
D. T. Phuong, "Last-Mile Logistics in Vietnam in Industrial Revolution 4.0: Opportunities and Challenges," in Proceedings of the 17th International Symposium on Management, Vung Tau City, Vietnam, 2020.
G. Dalla Chiara, K. F. Krutein, A. Ranjbari, and A. Goodchild, "Providing Curb Availability Information to Delivery Drivers Reduces Cruising for Parking," Scientific Reports, vol. 12, no. 1, Nov. 2022, Art. no. 19355.
H. Kim, A. Goodchild, and L. N. Boyle, "Empirical Analysis of Commercial Vehicle Dwell Times Around Freight-Attracting Urban Buildings in Downtown Seattle," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, vol. 147, pp. 320–338, May 2021.
M. Savelsbergh and T. Van Woensel, "50th Anniversary Invited Article—City Logistics: Challenges and Opportunities," Transportation Science, vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 579–590, May 2016.
F. Kellner, "Exploring the Impact of Traffic Congestion on CO2 Emissions in Freight Distribution Networks," Logistics Research, vol. 9, no. 1, Dec. 2016, Art. no. 21.
T. T. Taefi, J. Kreutzfeldt, T. Held, and A. Fink, "Supporting the Adoption of Electric Vehicles in Urban Road Freight Transport – a Multi-criteria Analysis of Policy Measures in Germany," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, vol. 91, pp. 61–79, Sep. 2016.
B. A. Davis and M. A. Figliozzi, "A Methodology to Evaluate the Competitiveness of Electric Delivery Trucks," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 8–23, Jan. 2013.
J. Fu, A. Nåbo, and H. J. Bhatti, "Locating Charging Infrastructure for Freight Transport Using Multiday Travel Data," Transport Policy, vol. 152, pp. 21–28, Jun. 2024.
W. Ho, X. Xu, and P. K. Dey, "Multi-Criteria Decision Making Approaches for Supplier Evaluation and Selection: A Literature Review," European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 202, no. 1, pp. 16–24, Apr. 2010.
K. Govindan, S. Rajendran, J. Sarkis, and P. Murugesan, "Multi Criteria Decision Making Approaches for Green Supplier Evaluation and Selection: A Literature Review," Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 98, pp. 66–83, Jul. 2015.
L. A. Zadeh, "Fuzzy Sets," Information and Control, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 338–353, Jun. 1965.
J. J. Buckley, "Fuzzy Hierarchical Analysis," Fuzzy Sets and Systems, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 233–247, Dec. 1985.
F. T. S. Chan, N. Kumar, M. K. Tiwari, H. C. W. Lau, and K. L. Choy, "Global Supplier Selection: A Fuzzy-AHP Approach," International Journal of Production Research, vol. 46, no. 14, pp. 3825–3857, Jul. 2008.
A. S. Somasi and S. Kondamudi, "Fuzzy TOPSIS and Fuzzy AHP-Based MCDA for Selecting the Optimal Location for a Solar PV-powered RO Desalination Unit in Visakhapatnam, India," Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 13837–13844, Jun. 2024.
C.-L. Hwang and K. Yoon, Multiple Attribute Decision Making, vol. 186. Berlin, Germany: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 1981.
A. Jayant, P. Gupta, S. K. Garg, and M. Khan, "TOPSIS-AHP Based Approach for Selection of Reverse Logistics Service Provider: A Case Study of Mobile Phone Industry," Procedia Engineering, vol. 97, pp. 2147–2156, 2014.
S. Opricovic and G.-H. Tzeng, "Compromise Solution by MCDM Methods: A Comparative Analysis of VIKOR and TOPSIS," European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 156, no. 2, pp. 445–455, Jul. 2004.
A. E. Hasan and F. K. Jaber, "Prioritizing Road Maintenance: A Framework Integrating Fuzzy Best-Worst Method and VIKOR for Multi-Criteria Decision Making," Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 13990–13997, Jun. 2024.
J. P. Brans and P. Vincke, "Note—A Preference Ranking Organisation Method: (The PROMETHEE Method for Multiple Criteria Decision-Making)," Management Science, vol. 31, no. 6, pp. 647–656, Jun. 1985.
J. P. Brans, P. Vincke, and B. Mareschal, "How to Select and How to Rank Projects: The PROMETHEE Method," European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 228–238, Feb. 1986.
M. Behzadian, R. B. Kazemzadeh, A. Albadvi, and M. Aghdasi, "PROMETHEE: A Comprehensive Literature Review on Methodologies and Applications," European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 200, no. 1, pp. 198–215, Jan. 2010.
E. K. Zavadskas, Z. Turskis, J. Antucheviciene, and A. Zakarevicius, "Optimization of Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment," Elektronika ir Elektrotechnika, vol. 122, no. 6, pp. 3–6, Jun. 2012.
V. Simić, D. Lazarević, and M. Dobrodolac, "Picture Fuzzy WASPAS Method for Selecting Last-Mile Delivery Mode: A Case Study of Belgrade," European Transport Research Review, vol. 13, no. 1, Dec. 2021, Art. no. 43.
M. K. Ghorabaee, M. Amiri, E. K. Zavadskas, and J. Antuchevičienė, "Assessment of Third-Party Logistics Providers Using a CRITIC–WASPAS Approach with Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Sets," Transport, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 66–78, Mar. 2017.
M. S. García-Cascales and M. T. Lamata, "On Rank Reversal and TOPSIS Method," Mathematical and Computer Modelling, vol. 56, no. 5–6, pp. 123–132, Sep. 2012.
D.-Y. Chang, "Applications of the Extent Analysis Method on Fuzzy AHP," European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 95, no. 3, pp. 649–655, Dec. 1996.
T. L. Saaty, The Analytic Hierarchy Process: Planning, Priority Setting, Resource Allocation, 1st ed. New York City, NY, USA: McGraw-Hill, 1980.
C. Spearman, "The Proof and Measurement of Association between Two Things," The American Journal of Psychology, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 72-101, Jan. 1904.
M. G. Kendall and B. B. Smith, "The Problem of m Rankings," The Annals of Mathematical Statistics, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 275–287, Sep. 1939.
Downloads
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Minh Nhat Nguyen, Trieu Thao Du
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain the copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) after its publication in ETASR with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
