Performance evaluation of listed Vietnamese logistics companies in the pre-, during, and post-COVID-19 based on a three-layer MCDM method

The global economy has suffered greatly from the COVID-19 pandemic. Vietnam’s economic sectors also cannot avoid this general situation, particularly in the logistics area. This industry contributes a significant portion of the gross domestic product (GDP) and has been prioritized for development by the Vietnamese government in recent years. Additionally, this sector is desirable to investors, particularly foreign investors. However, the lack of research provides a comprehensive awareness of companies’ performance in the Vietnamese logistics industry, especially fluctuations before, during, and after the pandemic. Inspired by this context, this study evaluates the performance of listed logistics companies from 2019 to 2023 to fill the research gap. A three-phase framework methodology that integrates Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC) and ranking methods, including Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and Evaluation based on Distance from Average Solution (EDAS), is employed to evaluate objectively. The assessment is based on 10 financial variables that reflect firms’ profitability, operations, leverage, and growth ability. The findings indicate differences in the rankings by TOPSIS and EDAS; nonetheless, the difference is insignificant, and there is consistency between the two approaches at the highest rank. Among alternatives, VGP emerges as the company belonging to the highest-ranking group and is the most stable. In contrast, GMD and TMS are known as the most volatile businesses, yet they have experienced an impressive recovery following the pandemic. In fact, these findings help logistics companies prioritise digital transformation and sustainable development, governments increase support policies, and investors choose successful enterprises with high resilience and potential in the post-pandemic future.