Supplier evaluation with factor analysis based hybrid SWARA-VIKOR methods

Purpose: Evaluation of the suppliers of a leading company in the retail industry with of Multi-Criteria Decision -Making (MCDM) methods.Theory and Methods: In this study, supplier selection was examined in 3 processes. In the first stage, Explanatory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis were used while determining the criterias. In the second stage, the SWARA method was used to determine the weights of criterias affecting supplier selection, there are still not enough real-life applications in the studies because of this method is newer than the other methods in the literature and the importance levels of criterias that determined in supplier selection differ in businesses or product types. In the last stage, suppliers were ranked with the VIKOR method for increase contribution of the decision-maker to the process, prevent possible disagreements, and facilitate accurate decision-making.Results: When Explanatory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis methods are applied to the survey, the criteria determined are consistent and meaningful. With the Swara criterion weighting, it is seen that the most important criterion is delivery time with 0.27 value, the least important criterion is the appropriate order with 0.12 value for the company. Finally, with VIKOR Method, suppliers are ranked from best to worst as A-C-B-E-D-F.Conclusion: It has been shown that the use of these methods together can be successfully applied in supplier selection and it is aimed to gain a different perspective to the literature.