A Preference Restraint DEA Approach for Supplier Selection

In an environment of purchasing management, many manufacturing firms have given increasing attention to strategic supplier selection in the effort of reducing the number of suppliers to support the advanced manufacturing mode. Decision methods for supporting supplier (vendor) selection process are typically multicriteria decision making in nature. Based on the analysis of measuring criteria for supplier selection, a preference restraint DEA model is developed. Comparing with existing methods, the model is more robust without demanding too much information, reflects preference of the decision-maker. An empirical case demonstrates applicability and efficacy of the proposed model.