Multicriteria analysis for evaluating and selecting suppliers under uncertainty

This paper presents a multicriteria analysis approach for evaluating and selecting suppliers under uncertainty. Linguistic variables approximated by triangular fuzzy numbers are used for effectively modelling the subjectiveness and imprecision of the decision making process. Pairwise comparison is adopted in the evaluation process for reducing the cognitive demand on the decision maker. A fuzzy multicriteria analysis algorithm is developed for generating an overall performance index for every alternative supplier across all criteria. An example is presented that shows the approach is simple and effective for solving the supplier selection problem in real world settings.