Supplier selection by the pair of nondiscretionary factors-imprecise data envelopment analysis models

Abstract

Discretionary models for evaluating the efficiency of suppliers assume that all criteria are discretionary, that is, controlled by the management of each supplier and varied at its discretion. These models do not assume supplier selection in the conditions that some factors are nondiscretionary. The objective of this paper is to propose a new pair of nondiscretionary factors-imprecise data envelopment analysis (NF-IDEA) models for selecting the best suppliers in the presence of nondiscretionary factors and imprecise data. A numerical example demonstrates the application of the proposed method.

Keywords:

• nondiscretionary factors
• imprecise data envelopment analysis
• supplier selection

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank two anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions and comments.