A Fuzzy Decision Making Approach for Supplier Selection in Healthcare Industry

Authors: Zeynep Sener, Mehtap Dursun

Abstract:

Supplier evaluation and selection is one of the most important components of an effective supply chain management system. Due to the expanding competition in healthcare, selecting the right medical device suppliers offers great potential for increasing quality while decreasing costs. This paper proposes a fuzzy decision making approach for medical supplier selection. A real-world medical device supplier selection problem is presented to illustrate the application of the proposed decision methodology.

Keywords: Fuzzy decision making, fuzzy multiple objective programming, medical supply chain, supplier selection.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1091478

References:

[1] "Understanding Barriers to Medical Device Quality”, FDA Report, 2011.
[2] G. Dickson, "An Analysis of Vendor Selection Systems and Decisions”, Journal of Purchasing, vol. 2, pp. 28-41, 1966.
[3] D. R. Lehmann, J. O’Shaughnessy, "Decision Criteria Used in Buying Different Categories of Products”, Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management, vol. 18 (1), pp. 9-14, 1982.
[4] E. J. Wilson, "The Relative Importance of Supplier Selection Criteria: A Review and Update”, International Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management, vol. 30 (3), pp. 34-41, 1994.
[5] V. R. Kannan, K. C. Tan, "Supplier Selection and Assessment: Their Impact on Business Performance”, Journal of Supply Chain Management, vol. 38 (4), pp. 11-21, 2002.
[6] W. Ho, X. Xu, and P.K. Day, "Multi-criteria Decision Making Approaches for Supplier Evaluation and Selection: A Literature Review", European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 202, pp.16-24, 2010.
[7] E. Fontela, A. Gobus, "The DEMATEL observer", Battelle Geneva Research Center, 1976.
[8] G.-H. Tzeng, W.-H. Chen, R. Yu, and M.-L. Shih, "Fuzzy Decision Maps: A Generalization of the DEMATEL Methods,” Soft Comput, Vol. 14, pp. 1141-1150, 2010.
[9] C.-H. Hsu, F.-K. Wang, and G.-H. Tzeng, "The Best Vendor Selection for Conducting the Recycled Material Based On a Hybrid MCDM Model Combining DANP with VIKOR", Resources, Conservation and Recycling, vol. 66, pp.95-111, 2012.
[10] J. L. Yang, G.-H. Tzeng, "An Integrated MCDM Technique Combined with DEMATEL for a Novel Cluster-Weighted with ANP Method", Expert Systems with Applications, vol. 38, pp. 1417- 1424, 2011.
[11] E. E. Karsak, O. Kuzgunkaya, "A Fuzzy Multiple Objective Programming Approach for the Selection of a Flexible Manufacturing System", International Journal of Production Economics, Vol.79(2), pp. 101-111, 2002.
[12] A. Perego, A. Rangone, "A Reference Framework for the Application of MADM Fuzzy Techniques to Selecting AMTS”, International Journal of Production Research, 36 (2), 437-458, 1998.
[13] R. Narasimhan, "On Fuzzy Goal Programming – Some Comments”, Decision Sciences, 12, 532-537, 1981.
[14] E. S. Lee, R. J. Li, "Fuzzy Multiple Objective Programming and Compromise Programming with Pareto Optimum”, Fuzzy Sets and Systems, 53, 275-288, 1993.
[15] E. E. Karsak, "Fuzzy Multiple Objective Programming Framework to Prioritize Design Requirements in Quality Function Deployment”, Computers & Industrial Engineering, vol. 47, pp.149-163, 2004.