Green supplier selection using an AHP-Entropy-TOPSIS framework

Abstract

Purpose-This paper aims to focus on development of a green supplier selection model using an index system based on a combination of traditional supplier and environmental supplier selection criteria. Strategies that balance economic and environmental performance are increasingly sought after as enterprises that increasingly focus on the sustainability of their operations. Green supply chain management (GSCM) in particular, enables the integration of environmentally friendly suppliers into the supply chain to be systematised to fit with specific environmental regulations and policies. More persuasively, GSCM allows enterprises to improve profits whilst lowering impacts on the global environment. Design/methodology/approach-A two-phase survey approach was adopted for the research. For the first phase, semi-structured interviews with senior management representatives of the case company-a Chinese-based electronic machinery manufacturer-were used to determine green supplier selection criteria. For the second phase, a two-part questionnaire survey was undertaken, the first part providing the data for an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) analysis of the first-phase criteria and the second with collecting data for an Entropy weight analysis. The resultant AHP and Entropy weights were then combined to form compromised weights-which, using technique for order preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS) methodology, were translated into preferential rankings of suppliers. Findings-Senior managers were found to rank traditional criteria more highly than environmental alternatives-the implication being that for the company, concerned, it may take some time before environmental awareness is fully assimilated into GSCM practice. Originality/value-The paper moves us a significant step closer to the application more widely, of innovative AHP-Entropy/TOPSIS methodology to real-world SCM problems.

Sustainability Tensions in Supply Chains: A Case Study of Paradoxes and Their Management

“…Furthermore, Development of Supply Chain Partners, e.g., through education and training, can improve their overall capabilities and enhance the (sustainable) SC performance. A suitable Selection of Supply Chain Partners is important, as the overall SC performance depends on its weakest link and is thus especially important in the electronic SC with its high number of members [18,47]. As a result of seeking Long-Term Relationships, trust between SC partners can evolve and facilitate knowledge and information sharing.…”

“…Therefore, Fairphone is highly engaged in the search for its first-tier supplier (Continuity: SC Partner Selection), which can be seen as a core challenge in the electronic SC regarding sustainability [47], and now collaborates closely with the manufacturing site to improve working conditions. One project manager of Fairphone is directly living on site [12] (p. 3) and a worker welfare fund was founded.…”

Embedding carbon impact assessment in multi-criteria supplier segmentation using ELECTRE TRI-rC

“…For more discussion on green procurement, one may refer to Appolloni et al (2014), and for more discussion on methods and the criteria for green sup-plier selection (until 2011), the interested readers are referred to the review paper (Igarashi et al 2013). For examples of recent studies on green supplier selection, one may refer to (Dobos and Vörösmarty 2014;Sivakumar et al 2015;Rezaei et al 2016;Hashemi et al 2015;Freeman and Chen 2015;Wu and Barnes 2016;Govindan and Sivakumar 2016).…”

An Empirical Study on Design Partner Selection in Green Product Collaboration Design

“…Freeman and Chen [52] combined the AHP of the entropy method to calculate the weights, and used the TOPSIS method to convert the order preference technology into the supplier's prioritization. Kar [53] combined fuzzy set theory, AHP, and neural network to study the problem of supplier selection, and proposed a hybrid decision method to support group decision supports.…”