## 6 Implications of DCs Locations  
In order to aid practitioners and/or decision-makers and provide them with strategic directions for future strategic moves toward initiatives to improve the listed DCs, the final DEA-based PROMETHEE II scores (i.e., productivity scores) were plotted with the distance of each distribution center from the main warehouse, as shown in Figure 3. This aims to formulate different strategies under which all strategic initiatives for improvement can be implemented in the sense that the different circumstances of each distribution center are appropriately considered. To illustrate, six different strategies can be formulated according to the situation of each distribution center, as shown in Figure 3. In other words, the different locations, which are associated with different productivity scores (Figure 3) necessitate formulating MCDM-based strategies for resource allocation. Such an approach is somewhat similar to what has been previously discussed in the literature within different contexts, such as strategic quality management (SQM) [48], green supply chain management (GSCM), and supply chain finance (SCF) [49]. Strategy 1  
Strategy 2  
A strategy that should be executed for the DCs located within Zone 2, as shown in Figure 3. For instance, RBC, which is located within this zone, attained a relatively moderate productivity score (between 0.2 and 0.8) while still being geographically located extremely far away from the main warehouse. Its far location may provide some explanation. Consequently, resources should be allocated for the purpose of overcoming obstacles associated with location. This may implicitly improve the productivity score. Any score  
Figure 3: DC zone identification based on their locations and productivity scores. improvement to any DC located in this zone (i.e., RBC and TFC) will result in them entering Zone 1 in an attempt to attain the maximum productivity score. * Strategy 3  
A strategy that should be executed for the DCs located within Zone 3, as shown in Figure 3. These DCs attained relatively (i.e., compared to other DCs) higher productivity scores (>0.8) as they were located relatively close to the main warehouse (<125 km). Resources for this strategy should be allocated for the purpose of benchmarking the best practice within the corresponding zone. The required resources might be minimal, as in the case of MKO, or sufficiently provided to fulfill their need to follow the best practices, as in the case of MDR (Figure 3). The best practice within this zone is represented by MKO; consequently, efforts should be dedicated to maintaining the same level of productivity. Additionally, the best practice in this zone should be prepared to accommodate cases in which the main warehouse relocates far away (125-250 km) since there is no evidence on which to judge its current productivity score (i.e., productivity = 1 or 100%). * Strategy 4  
A strategy that should be executed for the DCs located within Zone 4, as shown in Figure 3. These DCs--RRC, MKK, and PSC--attained relatively moderate productivity scores (between 0.2 and 0.8) as they were located relatively close to the main warehouse (<125 Km). Resources should be allocated for the purpose of improving productivity scores, and accordingly, to enter Zone 3 to attain maximum productivity scores. The required resources are based on the DC, according to their situation (Figure 3). The DCs within this zone should also consider that they have the competitive advantage of being relatively close to the main warehouse, and consequently, must be challenged and more efficient in regard to the resource utilization/mobilization required for productivity score improvement. * Strategy 5  
A strategy that should be executed for the DCs located within Zone 5, as shown in Figure 3. The DCs located within this zone attained low productivity scores (<0.2) as they were located extremely far away from the main warehouse. Such distances cannot be easily justified for resource allocation due to the low productivity scores of these DCs.