Why defuzzification matters: An empirical study of fresh fruit supply chain management

The measurement validity of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) questionnaires used for multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) and their fuzzification-based extensions have not yet been definitively inves-tigated. In this context, we investigated the effect of a fuzzification procedure on the variable measure-ment validity and statistical results of an AHP model. Based on market data regarding factors influencing the production and marketing stages of the Taiwanese litchi export chain, we verified whether the es-timated variables exhibit unbiased validity after applying a fuzzification procedure using the balanced scorecard framework and MCDM. We also measured the effectiveness of two defuzzification methods- centre of gravity (COG) and extent analysis method (EAM)-and compared their estimation performances. Further, we successfully established fresh fruit supply chain indicators and assigned weights to them cor-responding to their importance. The results revealed that global priority values determined using COG were similar to those estimated using the fuzzification-free AHP, which is critical for simple hierarchi-cal structures. The EAM accurately identified the crucial indicators and variables affecting the complex supply system of fresh fruit, highlighting the benefits of fuzzy AHP data application corresponding to ex-tensive hierarchies. The proposed method is expected to aid decision makers in improving the quality of their decision-making by evaluating the effect of data fuzzification with respect to information scale and applying appropriate defuzzification methods to reduce option screening. (C) 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.