A fuzzy TOPSIS model for selecting raw material suppliers in a manufacturing company

Multi-criteria decision model (MCDM) is used to describe a family of techniques which considers multiple criteria in order to make a choice (among several alternatives). Sometimes, both alternatives and criteria involve qualitative definitions which have to be accounted for. Accordingly, fuzzy TOPSIS is one of several MCDM methods and it serves as a scientific way to solve selection problems that involve uncertainty in criteria definition. This work considers a beverage manufacturing company where selection problem has caused a downturn in production. Inconsistency and unreliability of previous suppliers have caused the company to loose their competitive edge. Fuzzy TOPSIS is proposed to solve the challenge in selecting suppliers of a key raw material. Three decision makers evaluated three suppliers of sugar considering eight criteria for subjective weights based on a 5-point scale. Decision matrices were constructed and normalized for the three submissions. Result obtained showed that supplier 2 had the lowest fuzzy positive ideal solution and the highest fuzzy negative ideal solution. The same supplier had the highest closeness coefficient (0.782) which implies that supplier 2 is the best option.