Multi-criteria material selections and end-of-life product strategy: Grey relational analysis approach

The choice of materials for a manufacturing enterprise is important. An improper selection can negatively affect productivity, profitability and undermine the reputation of an enterprise because of the growing demands for extended producer responsibility. This paper presents an integrated methodology of performing an order pair of materials and end-of-life product strategy for the purpose of material selection. The requirements of the methodology do not only include both the technical and economic factors, but also the environmental factors. However, this integration poses challenging problem of decisions subject to non-linear constraints and uncertainties. Furthermore, there are multiple and contradictory objectives to be considered. Using Grey relational analysis, the multi-criteria weighted average is proposed in decision-making process to rank the materials with respect to several criteria. It will guide the selection process and help a decision maker solve the selection problem. The method is demonstrated with an example. Various material options are evaluated using the developed multi-criteria methodology.