Development of a supplier selection approach from the viewpoint of the entire supply chain

Many research experts and industry executives point out that the industry competition is not only between enterprises, but also between supply chains. With tight connections and cooperation between supply chain members, the supply chain can increase values for end customers and gains competitive advantage. Meanwhile, such relationships also create win-win situations among supply chain members. Thus, selecting supply chain members which includes supplier selection is a very important task in the supply chain management. Many studies have mentioned the importance of supplier selection in supply chain management, and have established methods and criteria for supplier selection. However, few studies considered the supplier selection from the perspective of the entire supply chain. Thus, this study proposes a new supplier selection approach that considers the entire supply chain in order to maximize the performance of the entire supply chain. We believe that our approach can be served as a supplier selection tool for improving supply chain performance.