A Hierarchical Decision Model to Select Quality Control Strategies for a Complex Product

A hierarchical decision model is proposed to select the optimal quality control strategies among various alternatives to pursue the most satisfying quality improvement for the supply chain in producing a complex product, such as an aircraft, warship, or satellite. More specifically, a novel framework, referred to as house of supply chain quality (HSCQ), is designed to provide necessary information for managing the supply chain quality, which can be transformed to a multi-objective program to determine the optimal quality control strategies and allocate proper quality control resources. Based on the relationships of the suppliers in the supply chain, an HSCQ network can be constructed and an associated multilevel multi-objective program can be established as the hierarchical decision model, which assists the enterprises in different tiers to choose the optimal quality control strategies for managing the quality of their outsourcing products. The result can significantly improve the overall quality performance of the supply chain. A case study on an aircraft production system is conducted to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the new model, which furnishes a fresh perspective on the supply chain quality management of a complex product.