A decision support system for vendor selection and quota allocations using dependent and independent criteria

Vendor selection is one of the most important activities of a purchasing department. When an organisation is confronted with choosing the best vendor to deliver a good or service, the decision can often be very complex. The assessment of vendors by combining both quantitative and qualitative information into the selection of the best‐value offering for organisation is very important. In this paper, a method is proposed to consider both qualitative and quantitative factors for vendor selection and a multi objective linear programming is employed for periodic quota allocation. The proposed model easily formulates customers travelling between vendors.