Lean supplier selection: a data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach

Abstract

The main aim of this study is to propose an incorporated model to evaluate suppliers using a lean manufacturing perspective. Although lean manufacturing has achieved an extensive amount of attention in previous studies, its integration with supplier selection is less investigated. To fill this gap, this study was conducted to systematically propose an integrated approach to select suppliers based on lean related attributes. Particularly, four performance perspectives (cost, quality, lead time and service level) in addition to 16 related metrics were designated as substitutes for leanness. The extracted metrics in addition to supply variety and quality of distribution were used as the inputs and outputs of DEA model, respectively. The proposed model was solved and some managerial implications were then suggested.