A fuzzy solution approach for multi objective supplier selection

In today's severe competitive environment the selection of appropriate suppliers is a significantly important decision for effective supply chain management. Appropriate suppliers reduce purchasing costs, decrease production lead time, increase customer satisfaction and strengthen corporate competitiveness. In this study a multiple sourcing supplier selection problem is considered as a multi objective linear programming problem. Three objective functions are minimization of costs, maximization of quality and maximization of on-time delivery respectively. In order to solve the problem, a fuzzy mathematical model and a novel solution approach are proposed to satisfy the decision maker's aspirations for fuzzy goals. The proposed approach can be efficiently used to obtain non-dominated solutions. A numerical example is given to illustrate how the approach is utilized. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.