Construction of a Supplier Evaluation Model in the Aerospace Sector

Abstract

Abstract The aerospace sector has a demand for high-precision and expensive machine tools that are characterized by a high entry threshold, high risks, and a long payback period. To ensure product quality and the reduction of operating costs, it is imperative that manufacturers in this sector develop an appropriate supplier evaluation and management mechanism for machine tools. Therefore, this study presents a new two-stage supplier evaluation model for the aerospace sector. In the first stage, a hierarchical structure that comprises three evaluation criteria and eleven subcriteria is constructed. In the second stage, suppliers are appraised and selected through the analytic hierarchy process. As exemplified by the purchase of high-precision and expensive machine tools by Taiwan’s Aero Win Technology Corporation (listed in the Taiwan Stock Exchange), this study conducts a feasibility and sensitivity analysis with respect to the supplier evaluation model. The three criteria are ranked in the order of decreasing importance as follows: quality > cost > delivery. The results of this research have useful implications for the evaluation policy of machine tool suppliers in the aerospace sector.