Evaluating and selecting partners in sustainable supply chain network: a comparative analysis of combined fuzzy multi-criteria approaches

Abstract

Partner selection is a crucial problem in supply chain management in which it is essential today to integrate sustainability criteria due to regulation, stakeholder pressers and economic interests. Thus, a sustainability-focused evaluation model for partner selection is required in order to improve the overall performance of the supply chain. This paper develops a new hybrid approach to evaluate and select the partners (suppliers and 3PRL providers) in sustainable supply chain network by combining Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (F-AHP) with Fuzzy Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation (F-PROMETHEE), and Fuzzy Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution (F-TOPSIS). A set of sustainability criteria for both supplier and 3PRL provider selection is proposed based on extensive literature review and experts’ opinions. F-AHP is used to calculate the priority weight of each criterion. Then, F-PROMETHEE and F-TOPSIS are both used to rank the partners comparatively. The validity and efficacy of the proposed approach is demonstrated through an application for selecting partners in the case of light bulbs recycling which has been strengthened by sensitivity analysis.