Bi-negotiation integrated AHP in suppliers selection

Purpose – The objective is to demonstrate a proposed scheme aimed at the uncertainty and imprecision of identifying suitable supplier offers, evaluating these offers and choosing the best alternatives in bi-negotiation. Design/methodology/approach – A scheme integrated analytic hierarchy process (AHP) with bi-negotiation agents based on the multi-criteria decision-making approach and software agent technique is then developed to take into account both qualitative and quantitative attributes in supplier selection. Findings – During the decision making between buyer and suppliers, the AHP approach deals with the traders' relative preferences and evaluates the supplier criteria during the pre-negotiation phase. In addition, software agents autonomously bi-negotiate multi-attribute fuzzy values (FV) of bargain strategy for buyer and supplier to determine the most favorable solution. Originality/value – This study, focused on the AHP process, matches product characteristics with supplier characteristics to determine potential suppliers, whilst bi-negotiation agents, exchanging and revising their offers using FV, could reflect bilateral preferences to get an optimal solution. A case study in a high-end computer-manufacturing company is included to demonstrate the potential of the scheme.