Multicriteria Model to Sort Suppliers in a Brazilian Dairy Industry

2. Choosing Suppliers

As supply chains become increasingly complex and global in their scale, supplier selection has become one of the most challenging tasks for modern managers (Araz and Ozkarahan, 2007). Academics and practitioners agree that excellence in supply management results in improved quality, customer service, and channel performance (Selitto et al., 2013). In recent years, methods for identifying suitable providers in the supply chain have become a key strategic consideration (Thomas and Griffin, 1996).

Supplier selection for specified goods and services is a critical decision for many purchasing organizations because supply performance can have a direct financial and operational impact on a business (Souza et al., 2012; Zorzate et al., 2005). Study of the supplier selection process is therefore useful for testing the influence of operational and relational criteria on the selection decision (Souza et al., 2012). Because of their increasing importance, supplier selection and evaluation have received greater attention in recent publications (Pareto, 1946).