Abstract
Supplier selection is one of the most crucial activities performed by organizations because of its strategic importance. Supplier selection is a multi-objective problem involving both quantitative and qualitative criteria. Over the years a number of quantitative approaches have been tried. Although the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) has previously been used in supplier selection problems, one major weakness of the application-oriented AHP literature is that it tends to focus on the mechanics of AHP instead of on the theoretical and practical implications associated with finding a solution. Though it is one of the most extensively used Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis methodologies, our literature search indicated that most studies found the best solution and stopped there, ignoring sensitivity analysis. Performing sensitivity analysis is very important for practical decision making, sometimes even as important as finding the best solution. In this paper for the first time a comprehensive application of AHP for a real-world case is presented along with sensitivity analysis in choosing the best suppliers for a Turkish construction company. As a result of this study the company decided to allocate the order quantities between the two top suppliers.
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Ozden Bayazit is an assistant professor of operations/supply chain management in the College of Business at Central Washington University. She received her Ph.D. in business administration with a major of Operations Management from Ankara University. She has published articles on multi-criteria decision-making systems, operations management, quality management, and supply chain management at referred journals including The TQM Magazine, Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, and Benchmarking: An International Journal. She has received College of Business Advisory Board Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award and CWU Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Awards in 2005. She is also the Director of Supply Chain Management Institute at Central Washington University.
Birsen Karpak is Professor of Management at Youngstown State University. She received her Ph.D. in Business Administration from Istanbul University, Turkey. Karpak has secured grants from US National Science Foundation and NATO and directed an International Advanced Study Institute on Multiple Criteria Decision Making and Risk Analysis. Dr. Karpak received numerous awards in research and service including the distinguished professorship award in scholarship from Youngstown State University. Her recent publications are mainly in applications of multiple criteria decision making methodologies which appeared in refereed journals such as Transportation, Journal of Multicriteria Decision Analysis, and European Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management. Karpak also develops business cases. Her cases published in NACRA refereed proceedings and in the refereed journal of Annual Advances in Business Cases. Karpak’s recent research interests are in Enterprise Resource Planning Systems and Small Medium Enterprises in Emerging Markets.
Ayhan Yagci holds an MBA degree from Ankara University in Turkey. He currently works for a bank as a specialist. His research interests include multi-criteria decision making methodologies.
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Bayazit, O., Karpak, B. & Yagci, A. A purchasing decision: Selecting a supplier for a construction company. J. Syst. Sci. Syst. Eng. 15, 217–231 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11518-006-5009-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11518-006-5009-3