SUPPLIER PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY PERFORMANCE EVALUATION IN THE TFT-LCD INDUSTRY

Abstract

Manufacturers of the TFT-LCD (Thin-Film Transistor Liquid-Crystal Display) panels in Taiwan face challenges from increasing competition and falling prices. Additionally, these manufacturers are heavily reliant on the reliability of their supply chains, making the choice of upstream suppliers a mission-critical issue in the industry. This study employs Operating Costs, Research and Development (R&D) Expenses, Net Fixed Assets, and Total Assets as input parameters to output Operating Revenue and Quality System Audit (QSA) Scores for the TFT-LCD industry in Taiwan. Traditional DEA models are used in the confirmation analyses, whereas the Grey System entropy weight method is applied to calculate the relative weights of the various parameters. The weighting results are included in the DEA as constraint weights to be substituted into the CCR-AR, SBM-AR, and Additive-AR models. The results are then compared to evaluate efficiency in terms of satisfying practical application needs. Finally, a case study based on a large TFT-LCD company in Taiwan is analyzed to provide insight into variations in Decision Making Units (DMUs) caused by the use of various models. The results are valuable in terms of optimizing the selection of an appropriate model to carry out future studies.