Supplier Selection Using Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System and Fuzzy Delphi

One of the most important functions of the purchasing management in every organization is to settle on suitable providers. This decision is a sophisticated one since it requires exercising great care in paying simultaneous attention to conflicting and heterogeneous criteria. Therefore an appropriate method should be devised for supplier selection and identifying evaluation criteria. This study tries to investigate and present such a method. This study is carried out in two distinct phases. In the first phase, using previous literature, the evaluative criteria for supplier selection are identified and using the fuzzy Delphi method, the most important criteria for food industries are determined. In the second phase, using ANFIS method, the best suppliers are chosen among 60 selected suppliers. Ultimately, the data are analyzed by ANN method and the results obtained from both methods are compared. The results indicate that the ANFIS method provides a better performance compared to the ANN method regarding the supplier selection process in such a way that it reaches higher scores in almost all of the criteria. This study uses the proper method of fuzzy Delphi for determining the supplier evaluation criteria as well as the most recent and exact ANFIS method for supplier selection.