Title: The performance evaluation of existing suppliers using data envelopment analysis

Authors: Seong-Jong Joo, George H. Messer Jr., Ronald Bradshaw

Addresses: School of Business, Clayton State University, 2000 Clayton State Blvd, Morrow, GA 30260, USA. ' School of Business, Clayton State University, 2000 Clayton State Blvd, Morrow, GA 30260, USA. ' College of Education and Professional Studies, Central Washington University, 400 E. University Way, Ellensburg, WA 98926, USA

Abstract: For any supply chain management activity to operate effectively, there must be some method of monitoring supplier performance and the metrics in place to provide visibility of performance. Many different methods have been developed over the years to aid in this effort. In the literature, there are numerous examples for the application of various decision tools to aid in the selection of new suppliers or the evaluation of multiple suppliers of the same commodity. This study is an attempt to evaluate and score a focal company|s existing suppliers of various commodities. The goal is to rate the suppliers comparatively using common measurable characteristics. An anonymous midsize manufacturing company in the aerospace industry has provided a full year of historical data on its 30 largest Tier 1 suppliers to aid this work. This study applies Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to the supplier data and results in the comparative rankings of supplier performance.

Keywords: supplier evaluation; data envelopment analysis; DEA; supply chain management; aerospace industry; SCM; performance evaluation; supplier performance; manufacturing companies; existing suppliers.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOM.2009.024578

International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 2009 Vol.5 No.4, pp.429 - 443

Published online: 10 Apr 2009 *

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