Sustainable supplier selection based on AHPSort II in interval type-2 fuzzy environment

• Published in: Information sciences 2019-05, Vol.483, p.273-293
• Main Authors: Xu, Zhou, Qin, Jindong, Liu, Jun, Martínez, Luis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: AHPSort II; Interval type-2 fuzzy sets; Multiple criteria decision making; Sustainable supplier selection
• ISSN: 0020-0255; 1872-6291
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ins.2019.01.013

•An AHPSort II method for sustainable supplier selection (SSS) is applied to IT2FSs.•Soft transitions in IT2FSs are used to sort suppliers into predefined classes.•A new way to determine representative points is developed.•Three types of criteria based on data availability and accuracy are used for evaluation.•Application of the methodology in SSS shows practical and theoretical usefulness. With increasing attention on protecting the environment and social involvement, the concept of sustainable development has been widely mentioned in various industries. A new management mode, sustainable supply chain management (SSCM), has come into being and has become a hot topic of discussion. As sustainable supplier selection is the most important issue in this mode, many multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods for sustainable supplier selection have been proposed, though sometimes it is more useful the sorting of suppliers into classes that show the performance of such suppliers. Therefore, this paper proposes the use of the sorting method, AHPSort II, under a fuzzy environment with interval type-2 fuzzy sets (IT2FSs) and a new way of selecting representative points for inferring suppliers’ priorities that will improve the management of unclear class assignments by softening transitions between classes facilitating the sustainable supplier selection. A significant reduction of comparisons compared to the AHP method together a higher precision of inferred priorities is occurred. This novel IT2FS sorting MCDM makes decisions become more in line with reality because of a better management of uncertainty and more accurate priorities. Finally, an application of the previous method to the selection of a sustainable material supplier is provided to show how the proposed method worked.