Available online at wwwsciencedirectcomEuropean Journal of

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

European Journal of Operational Research 186 (2008) 1059–1067 www.elsevier.com/locate/ejor Decision Support

An efficient and simple model for multiple criteria supplier selection problem
Wan Lung Ng

*

Department of Management Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong
Received 16 December 2005; accepted 8 January 2007
Available online 20 February 2007

Abstract
Simply looking for vendors offering the lowest prices is not ‘‘efficient sourcing’’ any more. Selection of suppliers is a multiple criteria decision. We propose a weighted linear program for the multi-criteria supplier selection problem. In addition to mathematical formulation, this paper studies a transformation technique which enables our proposed model to be solved without an optimizer. The model for multi-criteria supplier selection problem can be easily implemented with a spreadsheet package. The model can be widely applied to practical situations and does not require the user with any optimization background.
Ó 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Purchasing; Multiple criteria analysis; Supplier selection; Vendor selection

1. Introduction
Competitive advantages associated with supply chain management (SCM) philosophy can be achieved by strategic collaboration with suppliers and service providers. The success of a supply chain is highly dependent on selection of good suppliers. Simply looking for vendors offering the lowest prices is not ‘‘efficient sourcing’’ any more. Multiple criteria need to be taken into account when selecting suppliers. The supplier selection problem has received considerable attention in academic research and literature. Early in 1960s, Dickson identified 23 criteria that ought to be considered by purchasing personnel in evaluating suppliers [5]. A latter review by Weber et al. [11] reported that well over half of 74 research papers reviewed addressed the supplier selection problem with

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