The Selection of Suppliers with Environmental Criteria in Small Companies in the City of Durán, Ecuador

Abstract

Abstract Sustainable, efficient, and competitive supply chain management implies a change of perspective in small companies: moving from purchasing as an operational and routine function to strategic management of procuring and selecting suitable suppliers. In other words, supplier selection is a multi-criteria decision problem. The methodology used in this research refers to a mixed descriptive approach. The information necessary for the study was obtained through surveys and group work with the participation of owners of 27 small businesses in the city of Durán. The expert method, Saaty's hierarchical analysis and the technique of order preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS) were applied in this study. The results obtained helped to identify the main weaknesses in procurement management in the small companies studied, the selection of sustainable suppliers, and possible actions for improvement. The study found that small companies have shortcomings in supply chain management and selecting suitable suppliers to meet sustainability objectives. The shortcomings were financial, cultural, and market management.

Keywords

• supply chain management, supplier selection, multi-criteria decision.