Review and critique of supplier selection process and practices

With increasingly competitive global world markets, companies are under intense pressure to find ways to cut production and material costs to survive and sustain their competitive position in their respective markets. Since a qualified supplier is a key element and a good resource for a buyer in reducing such costs, evaluation and selection of the potential suppliers has become an important component of supply chain management. Hence, development of an effective and rational supplier selection model is naturally desirable. Several evaluation and selection models for supplier selection have been proposed and reported in the supply chain literature. This paper reveals the findings of a wide ranging literature review of supplier selection practices and models. Altogether 147 refereed academic journal articles are reviewed and classified into five categories. A list and summary of the papers falling into each category with brief annotations is provided. The areas that have received little attention or lack of research interest are discussed and some new research settings are also suggested.