Strategic decisions need to incorporate tangible,intangible,strategic,and operational factors into any analysis.A methodology that allows for the synthesis of these factors and helps management structure the decision problem can prove to be a valuable resource.This article presents a framework that effectively considers these issues in the strategic evaluation of suppliers.The framework is based on the Analytical Network Process(ANP)(Saaty 1996).ANP is a generalized form of the more popular multiattribute decisionmaking tool,the Analytical Hierarchy Process(AHP)(Saaty 1980).
AHP has been a popular approach for supplier selection and has been applied by a number of researchers and practitioners(Barbarosoglu and Yazgac 1997;Hill and Nydick 1992;Narasimhan 1983).It is a robust technique that allows managers to determine preferences of criteria for selection purposes,quantify those preferences,then aggregate them across diverse criteria.It is a relatively easy approach to understand and apply.Even so,it has certain difficulties that arise when developing an