Supplier selection in a tractor manufacturing company using KEMIRA-M method

Product quality depends on the quality levels of the raw materials, semi-finished products and finished products. In this case, evaluating the supplier and determining the best supplier(s) are very effective in achieving the desired quality level in the product. While performing the supplier evaluation, the performance of the supplier companies is evaluated by considering certain criteria. The evaluation process is shaped according to the degree of criticality and the expected properties of the part supplied. The quality of the supplied part is checked at three different points; before entering the production line, in the production line and in the finished product. Different criteria considred at different points in the evaluation of the quality of the parts also play an important role in the supplier evaluation. For this reason, supplier evaluation is a process with a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) structure including more than one criteria. MCDM allows different alternatives to be evaluated for interrelated or unrelated multiple criteria and results in the selection of the best alternative. When the literature is examined, it is seen that different MCDM methods have been used in many studies in the field of supplier evaluation. In the thesis, a supplier evaluation study was carried out, in a factory that manufactures tractors using the Modified Kemeny Median Indicator Ranks Accordance (KEMIRA-M) method, which is one of the new MCDM methods. In the literature search, it was determined that the KEMIRA-M method was not used for supplier evaluation in a company manufactured tractors. There are many reasons why the KEMIRA-M method is preferred in the thesis study. The first of these reasons is that KEMIRA-M can take into account both quantitative and qualitative criteria and this feature provides a more detailed analysis opportunity for supplier evaluation. Another is that, there is no limitation in the number of criteria in KEMIRA-M. Accordingly, many criteria can be added to the analysis within the scope of supplier evaluation. In addition, KEMIRA-M, while working with the quantitative and qualitative values of the criteria, also considers the opinions of decision makers on the criteria priorities. In summary, with KEMIRA-M, the best supplier can be determined by making both objective and subjective evaluations together. In the thesis, apart from use of KEMIRA-M method in choosing suppliers for a tractor manufacturing company, inclusion of different supplier evaluation criteria in the analysis, is also another innovation brought by the study. In this regard, it has been assessed that the conducted thesis study can contribute to the supplier evaluation literature and for tractor manufacturing process, both in terms of methodological and criteria to be taken into consideration.