Developing a decision support model for supplier selection system in supply chain management and evaluation of application results

In most industries, the cost of raw materials and component parts constitutes the main cost of a product. In these circumstances, the purchasing department can play a key role in cost reduction. One major aspect of the purchasing function is supplier selection, which includes the acquisition of required material, services and equipment for all types of business enterprises. Selecting the right suppliers is always a difficult task for the purchasing manager. These decisions are typically complicated for several reasons such as incomplete information, additional qualitative criteria and imprecise preferences. In supply chain management literature, there are many decision models for supplier selection. In these models, most attention has so far been paid to the choice phase, which is the last phase of the supplier selection process. However, the quality of the final choice phase is largely dependent on the quality of the steps prior to that phase. Therefore, in this thesis study, titled ?Developing a Decision Support Model for Supplier Selection System in Supply Chain Management and Evaluation of Application Results?, a decision support model that covers all phases of supplier selection process is presented. This model consists of four main phases, namely, problem formulation, formulation of criteria, determining supplier qualifications and final choice. Different decision making methods are proposed to assist decision makers in each phase of the model. The all phases of the presented model from initial problem definition, over the final choice among the qualified suppliers, to the order quantity allocation are applied in an electronic company. The results demonstrate the feasibility of applying the presented model in practice. In addition, the validity of the model results that is tested via scenario analyses is verified by the managers in the company. Keywords: Supply chain management, supplier selection, decision support system, decision making methods.