Supplier selection of an Indian heavy locomotive manufacturer: An integrated approach using Taguchi loss function, TOPSIS, and AHP

Abstract

Supplier selection is increasingly seen as a strategic issue for any firm. In the literature, a variety of supplier selection criteria and methodologies have been reported. However, in this article, to find the most dependable supplier for an Indian heavy locomotive firm, some of the selection criteria like quality, delivery, price and service are employed. Subsequently, an integrated model is proposed for objective assessment of suppliers by integrating three methods namely, Taguchi loss function, analytical hierarchy process (AHP), and technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS). Finally, two cases of the firm under study, along with sensitivity analysis, are considered to demonstrate the credibility of the model. Keywords: Taguchi loss function, AHP, TOPSIS, Case study, Indian locomotive