Efficient supplier selection - a three-stage multi-criteria decision-making approach

Abstract

The qualitative and quantitative factors influence the supplier selection problem. The selection of an efficient supplier is a difficult task and is a multi-criteria decision-making problem. In the present study, a three-stage analytic hierarchy process (AHP)-technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS)-goal programming (GP) was employed for the evaluation and selection of suppliers. AHP was used for identifying relative weight of the selection criteria then these weights were taken as input for TOPSIS methodology for ranking the shortlisted suppliers. GP was used for the quantity allocation. This study is intended to guide the organisational managers in formulating the effective policies and strategies for the effective supplier selection process in the competitive environment.