Abstract
The main goal of the current research is to formulate, evaluate and select strategies for revitalizing multimodal transportation in Arvand Free Zone. The intended research is applied in terms of purpose, and exploratory in terms of nature. The statistical population is the senior experts of Khorramshahr port. In this article, regarding the formulation of multi-modal transportation revival strategy, the required information has been obtained through the opinions of selected experts by visiting in person and completing the questionnaire. In order to formulate strategies for the revival of multimodal transport in Arvand Free Zone, an analytical approach has been used. Descriptive statistics and IEM, SWOT and QSPM strategic planning matrices were used in data analysis. Finally, the most important effective strategies in reviving the multifaceted transportation of the Arvand Free Zone are the expansion of covered warehouses, the construction of cold storage and special goods warehouses, the establishment of specialized terminals, specific pricing and flexible tariffs, respectively. The port has been introduced using a specific strategy and equipment modernization in the port area.
1.INTRODUCTION
Transportation plays an important role in supporting the processing of economic transactions and accelerating the process of international transportation (Aggarwal, 2019). Maritime transportation is the backbone of global trade and production supply chain, because more than four-fifths of global merchandise trade is carried out by sea. However, the growth in international maritime trade decreased slightly in 2019 due to lower economic indicators amid uncertainty and widespread downside risks. This decrease reflects changes in the global economy and business activity (Canton, 2021). Pabarja et al. (2017) stated in their research that multimodal transportation is transportation related to the transportation of goods from origin to destination using a combination of transportation modes. The revival of multimodal transportation services in order to maintain or increase the share of transportation in the medium and long term is of great importance (Kramarz et al., 2020). This clearly shows the growing potential of multimodal transportation.
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS
According to the classification of research according to the method of data collection, this research is in the category of descriptive research. The statistical population of the research is the senior experts of Khorramshahr port, and the sampling method in this research is purposeful judgmental sampling. In this research, interview, observation and documents of Khorramshahr port were used to collect information along with the questionnaire. The prepared questionnaire was seen by a number of professors and experts of the statistical community, and after receiving their opinions, it was modified and finally the questionnaire was prepared, and based on this, the validity of the measuring instrument was achieved through content. Questionnaire package number (2) contains weaknesses, strengths, threats and opportunities, questionnaire number (3) contains opportunities and threats, which were provided to the entire statistical community and they were requested to Opportunities rank (4 and 3) which rank (4=exceptional opportunity, 3=ordinary opportunity) and threats rank (2 and 1) which rank (2=serious threat, 1=ordinary threat) and for each opportunity provide an importance factor between (0-1) and threats. 
3.RESULTS
The results obtained from the research are given in Tables 1 to 8 so as to cover the entire research process. By considering a). External factors and b). Internal factors. The evaluation matrix of external factors and then the evaluation matrix of internal factors are obtained by multiplying the rank of the factor by its coefficient. Comparison of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. One of the most important steps of reviewing and formulating a strategy is the comparison stage, which is described in Table No. 5 and the QSPM matrix in Table No. 6. Then we use quantitative strategic planning matrix to rank the calculated strategies. This matrix scores the discovered strategies with four criteria: strength, weakness, opportunity and threat. Due to the limitation of the size of the article, here only the quantitative strategic planning matrix for weaknesses is mentioned. Table 8 shows the final ranking of strategies in general.
4.DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
According to the sum of attractiveness scores, the proposed strategies for Khorramshahr port are: First rank: expansion of covered warehouses, construction of cold storage and warehouse of special goods, creation of specialized terminal; Second rank: certain and flexible pricing in the port tariff using a specific strategy; Third place: Renovation of equipment in the port area. The results of the present research are in line with the research of Amur Arabs in connection with the investigation of multimodal transportation challenges in Khorramshahr port. Because it refers to the lack of necessary equipment and infrastructure to encourage companies to provide multifaceted services.
REFERENCES
Aggarwal, A., 2019. Leveraging SEZs for Regional Integration in ASEAN. Asian Survey, 59(5), pp.795-821.
Kramarz, M., Dohn, K., Przybylska, E. and Knop, L., 2020. Scenarios for the development of multimodal transport in the TRITIA cross-border area. Sustainability, 12(17), p.7021.
Pabarja, R., Soleimanpour daroghlou, M. and Babazadeh, R., 2017. Presentation of a mathematical planning model for optimal design of multimodal transportation network. In 5th National Conference on Applied Research in Management and Accounting, Tehran, Iran. Available at: https://civilica.com/ doc/784738. (In Persian)
Canton, H., 2021. United nations conference on trade and development—unctad. In The Europa directory of international organizations 2021 (pp. 172-176). Routledge.