Risk assessment of perishable products supply chains amidst COVID-19 through multi-criteria visualization.

This article focuses on assessing risks and disruptions in the supply chains (SC) of perishable products during the COVID-19 pandemic using an enhanced decision-making and visualization approach called VIKOR-GAIA. VIKOR (VIseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje) is a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method that provides the best compromise ranking under conflicting criteria, while GAIA (Graphical Analysis for Interactive Assistance) offers a visual representation of decision problems. The study evaluates nine perishable product categories against eight critical risk factors identified through expert consultation, revealing that meat and its byproducts experienced the most significant supply chain disruptions, followed by seafood, fruits, and vegetables. Sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of the results, and the VIKOR-GAIA method was found to be simpler and more effective than other MCDM-visualization integrations, offering valuable managerial insights for policymakers to develop targeted strategies to mitigate supply chain risks in perishable goods during crises.