Title: Designing a computational tool for supplier selection using analytical hierarchy process

Authors: Soumendra Kumar Patra; Prashanta Kumar Dash

Addresses: Regional College of Management Autonomous, Chakadola Vihar, Chandrasekharpur, Bhubaneswar – 751023, India ' International Management Institute, Gothapatna, Malipada, Bhubaneswar-751003, India

Abstract: With increasingly competitive global world markets, companies are under intense pressure to find ways to cut production and material costs to survive and sustain their competitive position. Since a qualified supplier is a key element and a good resource for a buyer in reducing such costs at optimum material quality, evaluation and selection of the right suppliers is critical to maintain competitiveness. This decision becomes more complicated in case of multiple suppliers, multiple conflicting criteria, and imprecise parameters. Most supplier selection models consider the buyer's viewpoints and maximise only the buyer's advantages and thus do not necessarily lead to an optimal situation for business competitiveness. This paper deals with a multi attribute decision model using AHP for the justification of supplier selection, explore the factors influencing the supplier selection, the relationship between the identified factors and the firm's performance with reference to manufacturing industries in Bhubaneswar City.

Keywords: analytical hierarchy process; AHP; supplier selection; vendor selection; firm performance; multiattribute decision making; MADM; manufacturing industry; India.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMOR.2015.070187

International Journal of Mathematics in Operational Research, 2015 Vol.7 No.4, pp.361 - 371

Received: 09 Oct 2013
Accepted: 18 Jan 2014
Published online: 29 Jun 2015 *

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