A Discussion on Supplier Selection Modeling Approaches

Supplier selection is a subfield of supply chain management that involves multiple steps in order for decision-makers to find suitable suppliers. Supplier selection is important as it could influence the whole company positively or negatively. It has, recently, become a topic of interest because of the recent pandemic and its effect on the global supply chain, which causes supply shortages. As such, the focus of this paper is on characteristics of decision-making modeling approaches, specifically agent-based modeling and multi-agent systems, in supplier selection, as its modeling has always been a challenge for companies due to its complex nature

Supplier selection for smart supply chain: An adaptive fuzzy-neuro approach

In recent years, companies have experienced international changes that have occurred as a result of technological advances, market globalization, or natural disasters. So, organizations are trying to improve their performance in order to be more competitive. In other words, organizations’ competitiveness highly depends on their suppliers. At present, companies need to consider and include so-called ‘resilience’, ‘sustainability’, and ‘smartness’ in the supplier’s selection to retain a competitive advantage. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to present an intelligent decision-making model for selecting the appropriate suppliers. For doing so, a set of criteria evaluation was determined to respond to the novel era circumstances. The suggested work is helpful for academics as well as professionals as it emphasizes the importance of resilient-sustainable supplier selection in the digital era.N/

Supply Chain Management and Management Science: A Successful Marriage

The last century has witnessed extant studies on the applications of Management Science (MS) to a diverse set of Supply Chain Management (SCM) issues. This paper provides an overview of the contribution of MS within SCM. A framework is developed in this paper with a sampling of MS contributions to major SCM dimensions. Future research directions are presented

Consistent and Sustainable Supplier Evaluation and Order Allocation: Evaluation Score based Model and Multiple Objective Linear Programming Model

This paper is to develop an integrated approach of supplier evaluation and order allocation to suppliers that suggests the buyer to place more orders to the supplier that has higher evaluation score (consistent order allocation) considering sustainability issues including economic, social, environmental, and disruption of supply chain issues. The proposed approach is handled by an Evaluation Score based Linear Programming (ESLP) Model. Performances of ESLP model is compared with those of Multiple Objective Linear Programming (MOLP) model that does not explicitly consider the evaluation scores of suppliers for order allocation. Experimental results show that ESLP model offers consistent order allocation while MOLP model offers inconsistent order allocation. Moreover, MOLP model has different priorities of suppliers for order allocation when the customer demands are changed. Inconsistent order allocation makes the purchasing process nontransparent, unexplainable, and susceptible for biased decisions. ESLP and MOLP models generate compromised solutions that are nondominated. They are better and worse for some performances. This paper emphasizes a need of further research that develops consistent order allocation methods

Optimal selection and investment-allocation decisions for sustainable supplier development practices

Organization’s sustainability performance is influenced by its suppliers’ sustainability performance. This relationship makes sustainable supplier development a strategic competitive option for a buyer or focal organization. When considering sustainable supplier development practices (SSDPs) adoption, organizations have to balance and consider their limited financial resources and operational constraints. It becomes necessary to both select the best SSDPs set and investment allocation among the selected SSDP set such that the organization can maximize overall sustainability performance level. In this paper, an integrated formal modeling methodology using DEMATEL, the NK model, and multi-objective linear programming model is used support this objective. The proposed methodology is evaluated in a practical sustainable supply chain field study of an equipment manufacturing company in China. Through case study, we found that the interdependency among SSDPs must be considered in SSDPs selection and investment allocation problem. Theoretical, managerial and methodology implications, conclusions, and directions for future research are also presented. © 2023, The Author(s)

DEVELOPMENT OF A SUPPLIER SEGMENTATION METHOD FOR INCREASED RESILIENCE AND ROBUSTNESS: A STUDY USING AGENT BASED MODELING AND SIMULATION

Supply chain management is a complex process requiring the coordination of numerous decisions in the attempt to balance often-conflicting objectives such as quality, cost, and on-time delivery. To meet these and other objectives, a focal company must develop organized systems for establishing and managing its supplier relationships. A reliable, decision-support tool is needed for selecting the best procurement strategy for each supplier, given knowledge of the existing sourcing environment. Supplier segmentation is a well-established and resource-efficient tool used to identify procurement strategies for groups of suppliers with similar characteristics. However, the existing methods of segmentation generally select strategies that optimize performance during normal operating conditions, and do not explicitly consider the effects of the chosen strategy on the supply chain’s ability to respond to disruption. As a supply chain expands in complexity and scale, its exposure to sources of major disruption like natural disasters, labor strikes, and changing government regulations also increases. With increased exposure to disruption, it becomes necessary for supply chains to build in resilience and robustness in the attempt to guard against these types of events. This work argues that the potential impacts of disruption should be considered during the establishment of day-to-day procurement strategy, and not solely in the development of posterior action plans. In this work, a case study of a laser printer supply chain is used as a context for studying the effects of different supplier segmentation methods. The system is examined using agent-based modeling and simulation with the objective of measuring disruption impact, given a set of initial conditions. Through insights gained in examination of the results, this work seeks to derive a set of improved rules for segmentation procedure whereby the best strategy for resilience and robustness for any supplier can be identified given a set of the observable supplier characteristics

Insights on Multi-Agent Systems Applications for Supply Chain Management

In this paper, we review relevant literature on the development of multi-agent systems applications for supply chain management. We give a general picture of the state of the art, showing the main applications developed using this novel methodology for analyzing diverse problems in industry. We also analyze generic frameworks for supply chain modelling, showing their main characteristics. We discuss the main topics addressed with this technique and the degree of development of the contributions.Universidad de Sevilla V PPIT-USPiano della Ricerca Dipartimentale 2016-2018 of DICAR-UniC

Integration of Triple Bottom Line In Supplier Selection Process (Case Study at Indonesia Bottled Water Company)

PT ABC is an Indonesia bottled water company that continues to strive to adopt sustainability efforts in every aspect of its business process, including on their supplier selection process. This study aims to determine the usage of TBL criteria in current formulation of supplier selection decisions at PT Tirta Investama; to determine what are the TBL integrated selection criteria and its assessment indicators which needed to select suppliers appropriately; and how to use them to select suppliers at PT ABC. Researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 4 procurement managers of PT ABC to find out the usage of TBL criteria in current formulation of supplier selection decisions. Currently, economic perspective still becomes the only one focus in supplier evaluation process in PT ABC. In fact, environmental and social concern still not significantly underlie supplier evaluation process which lead to selection decisions. The determination of TBL integrated selection criteria and its assessment indicators begins through literature review and finalized with focus group discussion (FGD). In this study, researchers established 13 TBL integrated selection criteria and 20 assessment indicators to select suppliers at PT ABC. Those criteria and indicators are then used to select suppliers in 4 main material categories of PT ABC using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method. Based on this selection process, a ranking of suppliers of each material category is obtained, resulting in PT A2 as top selected supplier in gallon bottle category, PT B1 as top selected supplier in gallon cap category, PT C1 as top selected supplier in preform category, and PT D1 as top selected supplier in screw cap category. Keywords: AHP, business sustainability, supplier selection, supplier selection criteria, triple bottom lin