The Improvement of the Cuban Business System, a gradual process that has grown in maturity, has placed companies before new challenges in terms of competitiveness and excellence.
The Multi-criteria Procedure for the Selection of Suppliers that is proposed arises as a consequence of the need to improve the management of strategic purchases in companies, integrating: the AHP, different tools and multi-criteria methods to help decision-making, and the use of software as a computer support for the decision-making process during the selection of a supplier, product or service, and is directed more than to select a supplier, to achieve in itself a certain advantage in the selection of the best alternative to achieve the desired goal.
Introduction
Almost every event in life manifests as a constant decision-making process.. Before choosing what to do, it is important to analyze all possible alternative solutions to the problem, as well as take into account the effect of each alternative, anticipating the negative and positive consequences.
To respond to deficiencies in decision-making, in the modern world every day businessmen with significant knowledge in the field of decision support are trained, enabling the current businessman to rely on these techniques for decision-making, hence the importance of knowing them in the current business environment (Garza and González, 2002).
In recent years the world has undergone a number of changes, especially with regard to business practice. The situation in the modern world requires companies to be increasingly competitive, which means continuous maintenance or condemnation to absolute bankruptcy, which is why logistics management has become an advantage for them. Although the term "logistics" is not new in the world, its application is relatively so, since until a few years ago this term brought to mind images of trucks lining up and warehouses served by fifth-level employees. Today, on the contrary, it refers to modern information systems, real-time communications, inventory management intertwined with suppliers, customers, purchasing management, supplier selection and others.At this moment, globalization ceases to be a theory and acquires a concrete form when they meet logistics; not even those in sectors where there is no competition are safe from globalization.
The new trend in logistics since the beginning of the 21st century is scientific decision-making, where all logistics problems, even the simplest, can naturally be extended to a multi-criteria context. Where the purchase is considered a support logistics activity, being the selection of suppliers the key point in the success of the purchasing management process, therefore, it is necessary to have a procedure with a multi-criteria approach for the selection of suppliers that allows achieving excellence in these times of crisis.
In this regard, there are references on procedures for the selection of suppliers, which in the author's opinion, the essential deficiency lies in the lack of robustness in the mathematical methods and procedures used in them to measure, evaluate, establish a hierarchical order and select a supplier, in addition to their diversity and their unreliability and operational simplicity, which in most cases motivates their non-integration as part of the companies' purchasing management process.
In view of what has been stated so far and taking into account that in recent years Cuban society has turned its economy upside down, seeking novel techniques that help to increase efficiency and effectiveness in the business sector, it has been necessary to prepare the managers and technicians of the different levels with the guidelines and techniques that have allowed the socialist state company to demonstrate its competitiveness with capitalist companies, putting Business Improvement as the first order, exercising transformations in the decision-making system of companies; The timeliness and importance of having a multi-criteria procedure based on mathematical decision-making tools in the process of selecting suppliers in the management of strategic purchases is demonstrated. of companies.
Today's complex environment requires a new logic, a new way of solving the multitude of factors that affect the achievement of objectives and the consistency of the reasoning used to reach valid conclusions, being common for senior executives to take their decisions. most important decisions following expert recommendations. The purchasing management of companies is not exempt from these advantages, so they can carry out the supplier selection process by using a procedure with a multi-criteria approach and the use of multiple experts.
This approach must be justifiable and based on wisdom and good sense, since expert-based decision-making has become the operational basis of an increasing number of entities in the supplier selection process, therefore, They should not be so complex that only highly educated people can use them, but rather serve as a general unifying tool for the ideas of the experts consulted.
Development
The success of any applied scientific work is, in the first instance, in the wisdom that one has to define the problem from the practical necessity when establishing the links of this with the existing theoretical development. Thus, it is possible to elucidate about the sufficiency or not of the theory to solve the practical problem posed. The deficiency of the theory creates a scientific problem.
1. Theoretical referential conception.
1.1. Procurement logistics. General considerations and current trends.
Systemic management approaches tend to achieve a satisfactory functioning of the system from a satisfactory functioning of all its parts together. This has meant that in recent years new approaches have emerged, with their procedures and techniques that constitute new ways of managing companies from a perspective different from the traditional one. It is in this context that logistics is increasingly being talked about.
Logistics as a system deals with a set of activities which are grouped into three subsystems called: Supply Logistics, Production Logistics and Distribution Logistics.
Procurement or supply is how the logistics function is known to make available to the company all the products, goods and services from abroad that are necessary for its operation, being the set of operations that a company performs in order to dispose of the ideal raw material, in the correct quantity, at the right time and at the lowest possible cost (Iresco, 1982). Its concept is synonymous with supply.
Supply logistics management implies the taking of a set of decisions that must contribute to the achievement of an efficient and effective operation of the logistics system from suppliers to the beginning of the production process of any company, being key within the business activity, which is also a complex function. Where its functions are:
- Anticipate needs Plan needs in time Express them in adequate terms Look for them in the market Acquire the products Make sure they are received in the conditions demanded.
The main trends and developments in supply logistics as a management approach of current times collected by specialized literature are described below:
- There is a tendency to tighten relationships with suppliers, increasing supply flexibility and coordinating them with production needs. Supplies under the JIT (Just In Time / Just in time) philosophy. The implementation of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).
1.2. Purchasing management. General considerations and current trends.
The relationship between purchasing and supply is intimate, which is why purchasing is considered one of the activities inherent to the supply logistics function. The selection of suppliers is the most important responsibility of the purchasing department. These terms are frequently used to describe similar business functions, although it should be noted that the procurement function is broader than the purchasing function, see differences in Annex 2.
Therefore, the author considers that “purchasing management is the set of actions carried out by the members of an organization in order to obtain the necessary goods and services from abroad, at the right time and that guarantees the best possible results for the organization".
As a business function, purchases are more restricted in nature and are intended to acquire the goods and services that the company needs from abroad, guaranteeing the supply of the required quantities in terms of time, quality and price. Although this function is of vital importance for the company, as can be seen it is only a part of all the operations that it must carry out in order to be supplied. In Annex 3 you can see the phases of the purchasing process.
Some of the objectives of the Purchasing function are:
- Maintain continuity of supplies in accordance with production plans Provide products, materials and services in accordance with the required quality specifications Obtain the necessary products, at the lowest possible cost within quality needs and delivery times Required. Prevent the commercial department and the general management of price variations, conjunctures, trends, others.
There are four indicators that are basic, which are: price, quality, payment conditions and delivery times.
The strategic trends in purchasing management are aimed at establishing, maintaining and developing long-term relationships with suppliers that offer quality inputs. In this context, the predominant trend is to reduce the number of suppliers, in order to delegate tasks such as quality control, storage, and transportation to them. Although it is not a critical factor, price is still a relevant aspect in the selection of suppliers.
A specific process within the purchasing management process is the evaluation and selection of suppliers. In this regard, González and Garza (2003) state that traditionally companies use empirical methods to carry out this process, such as:
- Quality management system audit Product audit Process capacity audit
1.3. Procedures and methods for the classification and selection of suppliers.
1.3.1. Methods for classifying suppliers.
When the number of products or suppliers to be managed or classified is very large and their incidence taking into account a certain characteristic is quite uneven, it is convenient to classify them using certain criteria. Some fairly simple and widely used quantitative techniques to perform classifications are: the well-known ABC Method, also called ABC analysis; Pareto Law or Rule 20/80. Another technique that can be used to classify products is the so-called Benefit Impact Matrix - Supply Risk (IB / RS).
Using these criteria, the company can classify the products it purchases into the following categories:
- Strategic products: High impact and high risk Basic products: High impact and low risk Non-critical products: Low impact and low risk Bottleneck products: Low impact and high risk.
Using these methods, classifications of multiple things can be established for later evaluation. Criteria for classifying the:
- Products: Cost, profit, volume of sales / purchases and others. Suppliers: Volume of purchases, quality, payment terms, delays in delivery times and others.
1.3.2. Procedures for the selection of suppliers.
In companies, the selection of suppliers is based on a purely economic basis for decision-making, which is why the main attention is paid to the determination of the Multi-Product Balance Point, because it is the time it would take for the total increased revenue and / or expense reduction equals total cost. However, it does not take into account the value of money over time, therefore, the use of Isocosto techniques in the valuation of multiple alternatives, Price and Product Engineering, facilitate defining the best offer in the product portfolio, as well such as services, determining the order of priority and the status of each proposal through the Product Ranking, the application of the BCG Matrix and the analysis of costs.
Cost / Benefit Analysis is also very widely used for decision making in the selection of suppliers, which consists of placing monetary figures on the different costs and benefits of an activity, in order to estimate the accumulated financial impact of what you want to achieve. It is used when comparing the costs and benefits of different decisions, but by itself it is not a clear guide to make a good decision, since there are other points that must be taken into account (labor, safety, horizon time, period, legal obligations, customer satisfaction).
On the other hand, it is necessary to be objective, because in purchasing, when selecting a supplier the decision maker must be an economic optimizer (maximizing profits and minimizing costs) and according to the requirements of ISO 9000 of 2000, the potential suppliers of a company They have to be evaluated and selected according to the quality requirements of the organization that needs their services, but there are other concerns of a political, social, religious, sentimental nature. Perhaps this is why Herbert (1957) argued that "decision-makers, rather than looking for optimal solutions, seek satisfactory solutions", that is, to satisfy rather than optimize, since other extra-economic factors influence the decision that is made.
For the evaluation of suppliers in companies, in general terms, the most commonly used systems are limited to taking into account two indicators as criteria: quality and price. The author also considers it significant in the selection of suppliers to use the following criteria: discounts, packaging, flexibility, missing delivery, transportation, previous experience, delivery time and its fulfillment, supervisory capacity, validity of the offer, location, quality of the management, possibilities of the use of the just in time and possibilities of recycling of the containers and packaging.
Selecting the best provider, according to the criteria of González and Garza (2003) is a decision problem in the presence of multiple attributes, which has been solved so far empirically and taking into account the experience of the specialists in charge of the activity., the use of mathematical techniques for decision-making is a powerful tool for effective management. Therefore, they propose a procedure to obtain the ranking of the alternatives (suppliers) considering a set of conflicting criteria, which allow the selection of suppliers with the use of multi-criteria techniques.
Step-1: Select the criteria: It is necessary to determine the criteria to be assessed in order to evaluate the suppliers.
Step-2: Determine the relative importance of the criteria: This is a really important step in the decision-making process, in which the criteria are weighted.
Step-3: Establish the category of each supplier: Here four categories of suppliers are established.
Step-4: Obtain the ranking of the suppliers: For the selection of the best supplier, only those suppliers that are in category 1 and 2 will be analyzed, those that are in category 3 and 4 will never be taken into account.
Freese (1996) broadly proposes the following procedure for the selection of a logistics service provider (Logistics Operator).
- Gather data and necessary information: at this stage it is necessary for the requesting service to ask some questions Prepare a list with potential suppliers or borrowers: all available information should be sought in the organization, the Internet and other sources of information. Make the request for offer and send it to potential suppliers: the format of the request for offer is designed to carry out an efficient evaluation process. Establish the evaluation criteria and the weight or relative importance of each of them: to carry out a A good evaluation is necessary to make a preliminary analysis. Reduce candidates to a reasonable number: this will be done through a preliminary evaluation against the criteria. Carry out an evaluation and precise selection of the remaining candidates.Price valuation process Make the formal contract with the selected supplier.
Parada (2001) proposes a procedure through a set of stages to carry out a strategic evaluation of the providers based on parameters or criteria that directly affect the quality and efficiency of the hotel service. The proposed stages are the following:
- Classification of suppliers Definition of the most important parameters for the evaluation of suppliers Formulation of the supplier evaluation matrix Determination of the level of incidence of suppliers in the quality of service Selection of suppliers.
In the Quality Management Course for Laboratories, held in Washington DC (2005), in the Module "Supplier Management", a procedure and a questionnaire (Annex 5) is addressed to evaluate and select suppliers. It is divided into the following stages:
- Selection of suppliers: In this stage, all the information about suppliers is obtained and those that meet the needs of the company are selected. Supplier qualification: This stage is intended to ensure that the products or services they offer comply with certain Quality standards. Supplier evaluation: The objective of this stage is to provide feedback to both the customer and the supplier regarding quality requirements, in addition to serving to determine priorities in the improvement and decision-making process.
There are also other procedures and methods that, by pondering, evaluate the supplier, but these suffer from a mathematical foundation of decision analysis with a multi-criteria approach based on experts, a limitation that does not allow companies to make effective decisions during the process. supplier selection.
In the procedures analyzed above, common features appear such as: ordering, classification, selection of alternatives, the need to analyze non-financial criteria, little theoretical use of the mathematical tools that facilitate addressing the typical decision problems recognized in the literature and that are present in the processes of evaluation and selection of alternatives.
The author considers that not all the supplier selection procedures discussed above are based on the use of mathematical tools to aid decision-making, which provide the decision maker with effective tools that allow him to proceed in solving a decision problem. in which it is necessary to take into account several points of view, often conflicting (Vincke, 1992); They do not take into account the filtering (reduction) of the criteria and alternatives before submitting them to the decision process with the use of multi-criteria methods to aid decision-making, something scarcely discussed, these limitations to apply the procedures described above in the companies and achieve a good selection of suppliers.
From the mathematical point of view, the author considers that the evaluation and selection of providers classifies as a multi-criteria decision problem, there are individuals who will evaluate, there are multiple criteria to consider, there are perceptions and subjectivism, it is necessary to decide about the alternatives, there are to sort, select and sort. This approach has hardly been found by the author in the consultations carried out previously and referred to the current practice.
None of the previously analyzed procedures fully contemplates all these elements, so necessary for the effective selection of suppliers, which will be considered by the author in the procedure that is designed for the selection of suppliers.
1.4. Basic concepts in the decision-making process.
1.4.1. What is a decision making?
Choose between two or more alternatives of possible solutions. Decide -from Latin decidere- means "cut or solve." It is defined by the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) of the language as: “ending a problem, reaching an opinion on something controversial. Make someone lean towards one thing or another. Choose, solve ”.
Decision-making basically consists of choosing the most convenient among several alternatives, although according to Peter Drucker: “A decision is rarely a choice between right and wrong. At best it is a choice between what is probably correct and what is probably not correct… that is, it means taking a risk… the more important a job is, the greater the risks to be taken. It is not a question of suppressing them, but assuming those that are reasonable ”.
Simon (1960) believes that decision-making is a process of choosing between alternative courses of action, based on a set of criteria, to achieve one or more objectives. Other authors consider it as the creative act of choice, based on a set of possible decisions, in which quantitative factors are combined with the heuristic capacities of the men who make decisions. Toskano (2000) considers it to be the term that is generally associated with the first five stages of the problem-solving process. Thus, decision-making begins with identifying and defining the problem, and ends with the choice of an alternative, which is the act of making a decision.
1.4.2. How to make a decision?
Decision-making is apparently simple, it is something everyday and natural that is done almost unconsciously on a daily basis. Therefore, it is possible to speak of man as a “decisional homo”, since he makes approximately between six thousand and eight thousand daily decisions (Rodríguez, 2001).
Implicit in decision-making are the different alternatives or actions that can be taken by the DM and that constitute the variables controlled in the process. The DM's problem is to evaluate the different alternatives and select the best one according to the objective set.
When a decision is made, it is based on data (information) about the results obtained in the past and establishes a line of action in the present (decision) that will lead to a result in the future (García and Cuétara, 1986 and González, 2001).
Making decisions is both an art and a science, Rodríguez (2001) specifies some basic elements that, if not fulfilled, runs the risk of falling into certain failures that alter the value, quality and credibility of the decision, which the author will be highlighted below, considering that they have great value:
- Use of erroneous, outdated, or irrelevant information Use of a poorly selected sample to develop the analysis process Be influenced by prejudices or affective feelings Absolutize the importance of averages, ignoring the value of extreme values Interpretation and / or equivocal conclusions. Analysis carried out under a single prism in relation to social, economic or administrative position. Absolute certainty when in the presence of uncertainty.
In decision-making, according to the analysis by Nieto and García (1996), inaccuracies arise, which is given among other causes by:
- Unquantifiable information: When it comes to qualitative data and, therefore, subject to subjective assessment. Incomplete information: When the information can be measured as “around a value”, but not “exactly the value”. Information impossible to obtain: When obtaining exact data is carried out at a high cost, it may be desirable to obtain an “approximation” to that data. Partial information: When part of the facts is unknown.
According to García and Cuétara (1986), the decision-making process becomes more complex as the following situations arise:
Existence of a large number of options.
The information available is insufficient.
The period of time in which the option must be adopted is short.
The quantitative factors are minor.
There are antagonisms or discrepancies.
Scientific decision making emerged over time from practical experiences (Gallangher and Watson, 2005). The decision-making process can be summarized in six fundamental stages (some authors like Charles Horngren (1994) mention seven, or like Eduardo Bueno (1991) mention five, but in essence they have the same content):
- Definition of the problem Analysis of the information Analysis of alternative solutions Selection of the decision Implementation of the selected strategy Evaluation of the decision made through feedback.
The requirements for a comprehensive application of the decision-making process according to Gallangher and Watson (2005):
- Be well informed: All pertinent facts and relationships must be known. Know all the alternatives: The scientific method assumes that all possible alternative solutions to the problem can be identified. Be objective: In business this means: being an economic optimizer.
Decisions are the engine of business and the success of any organization depends largely on the proper selection of alternatives.
1.4.3. What is a multi-criteria decision problem?
Several authors agree that a multi-criteria decision problem is when there are at least two conflicting criteria and at least two alternative solutions, the decision being the result of a compromise between all of them, which produces the best result (Nieto and García, 1996; Toskano, 2000 and Garza and González, 2002). The solution alternatives must be evaluated and according to Artola (2002a), the evaluation from the mathematical point of view is characterized by having multiple criteria, generally in conflict due to the unequal degree of development in which they are usually found, raising a multi-criteria problem.
Toskano (2000) states that those problems in which the decision alternatives are finite are called Discrete Multicriteria Decision Problems. These problems are the most common in reality (Munda, 2004), hence their consideration by the author in this research.
1.5. Multi-criteria decision-making methods.
The theory and practice of discrete multicriteria decision analysis has been constantly developing over the last 25 years. This decision support approach is at a higher stage compared to the classic optimization paradigm of Operations Research (Buchanan and Henig, 1997). Pardalos, Siskos and Zopounidis (1995), shows the growth of research in this field. Among all of them, two ways of modeling DM preferences stand out: the functional model and the relational model. The functional model has been widely used within multi-criteria utility theory (Keeney and Raiffa, 1976 and French, 1986); The relational model has its best known representation in the form of overclassification relations (Roy, 1990) and in the form of fuzzy relations (Fodor and Roubens,1994). These models are the basis for multi-criteria decision-making approaches and multi-criteria decision aids that give rise to two large schools, the so-called North American school and the European school, respectively:
- Normative School (developed primarily by the Americans and English): It is based on describing norms in the way that the DM should think systematically. It has a mathematical elegance given by the modeling of the problem and the set of defined axioms. It uses rationality as a model. Descriptive School (developed by Europeans: French, Dutch and Belgians): It renounces the idea of the rational, tries to make a reflection of the way in which the DM makes decisions, it also has a mathematical formulation, but less impressive than the "Normative School".
Decision-making methods are classified as rational or heuristic, depending on whether logical or empirical and quantitative or qualitative methods predominate, depending on whether mathematical or subjective methods predominate. They are also classified according to the treatment of the information (standard level, ordinal, cardinal and marginal substitution ratio). From this classification the cardinal treatment of the information is selected, within which there are methods based on a value function and methods based on a heuristic, which motivates the existence of the two approaches previously discussed to solve the problems of taking. of multi-criteria decision (Romero, 1996; Font, 2000; Garza and González, 2002 and Ishizaka, 2003).
1.5.1. Hierarchical Analytical Process.
The Hierarchical Analytical Process (AHP), introduced and developed by Saaty in the late 1970s (Saaty, 1980; 1997; 2000), is a discrete multi-criteria method, which essentially consists of formalizing the intuitive understanding of complex problems using a hierarchical structure. This technique is within the class of ratio or proportion scales, since it always estimates the value of the alternative or objective, in ratio or comparison by pairs, it is elaborated with the aim of developing the priorities and preferred magnitude of the different indicators to be used, according to expert criteria. In this way, the expert not only specifies which of them he prefers, but also to evaluate in what magnitude it is preferred,according to a previously specified scale and your opinion regarding the relative importance of each criterion in terms of their contribution to the achievement of the overall goal.
In this regard, Winston (1991) argues that not every expert in decision-making approves the AHP as an acceptable tool for decision-making in multi-objective problems. Some elements can also be found as to why AHP is not considered a reliable method within the scientific community of multicriteria analysis (Arlington Software Corporation, 1998 and Robins, 1997).
Saaty (1997) considers that AHP has many advantages for helping decision-making in multicriteria problems that have little time and require security in the response, in addition to being very operational for anyone despite their level of knowledge.
The AHP has been treated in great depth by the author due to the simplicity and reliability shown (Saaty, 1997), which despite receiving much criticism, has proven to be a very useful tool for making decisions, establishing hierarchies and estimating the weights of criteria (Winston, 1991). It is useful in many complex situations such as the selection of an alternative among several when the decision becomes difficult and laborious, as well as allowing the DM to make the most advantageous choice.
1.5.2. Overclassification methods.
Bernard Roy (1968) is the founder of overclassification methods and the first to introduce the concept, which was born as a result of the difficulties encountered in modeling certain concrete problems. To deal with these problems, it first developed ELECTRE I. Currently, several versions of the ELECTRE method (I, II, III, IV, IS and TRI) have been developed, which provide procedures to solve different types of problems raised in the treatment of decision theory (Romero, 1996; Flament, 1999; Cordeiro, 2000 and Garza and González, 2002).
Another of the known overclassification methods is PROMETHEE, which consists (Brans and Vincke, 1985), as in ELECTRE III, in the construction of valued improvement relationships, incorporating concepts and parameters that have some physical or economic interpretation easily understood by the DM. PROMETHEE constructs the degree of improvement between each pair of ordered actions (Cordeiro, 2000). Various versions of PROMETHEE (I, II, III, IV and V) have been developed of this method.
Other methods based on overclassification relationships referenced by Artola (2002b) are: QUALIFLEX, ORESTE, MROUTE, POSITION and OEDIPO.
The solution of the supplier selection problems involves a group of alternatives and conflicting criteria, for which the different methods and techniques described above and their combination can be used, as well as combinations with other analysis techniques and multicriteria evaluation for the decision making.
The simplicity and safety demonstrated in the practical application of the AHP for solving multicriteria decision problems (Saaty, 1997), is what makes the author lean towards the use of it as an aid to multicriteria decision making, which enables effective decisions to be made on complex problems by simplifying and accelerating natural decision-making processes. Basically it is a method that consists of breaking down an unstructured and complex situation into its parts; sort these parts or attributes in a hierarchical order; assign numerical values to subjective judgments or thoughts about the relative importance of each attribute, and synthesize the judgments to determine which attribute has the highest priority and how they should be acted upon to influence the outcome of the situation.
AHP has proven to be more flexible than other techniques due to the advantages it presents over monotiterials and others that are not very operable for the problem of supplier selection in the management of strategic purchases of construction services companies due to the enormous load It implies subjective, which will result in obtaining better compromise solutions between conflicting criteria, considering the selection of suppliers a decision problem in the presence of multiple criteria.
2. Theoretical conception of the procedure. Generalities.
In the framework of this research, several references to procedures and methods that allow the selection of providers were analyzed. However, these do not exhaust the possibilities of carrying out a comprehensive evaluation of them in the management of strategic purchases, which in the opinion of the author can be solved with the design of a procedure with a multi-criteria approach by applying it to the supplier selection process. of methods and techniques of applied mathematics based on the use of experts. For this reason, a multi-criteria procedure is proposed through a set of phases to carry out a comprehensive evaluation and selection of suppliers based on parameters or criteria that directly affect the quality and efficiency of the company's service.
The proposed procedure allows the organization to select a supplier among several from the application of methods and techniques of applied mathematics with a multi-criteria approach, for which the author proposes that the selection of suppliers be developed with similar principles in function of the solidity shown in terms of trends, rhythms, speed and the use of the results as feedback for improvement based on their relationship with the causes and on the basis of a logical correspondence with the policy and strategy.
As part of the theoretical conception of the procedure, the internal logic of the decision-making process (Information - Decision - Action) is intertwined with the process of negotiation and selection of companies' suppliers.
On the other hand, the proposal of the multi-criteria procedure for the selection of suppliers in strategic purchases addresses the evaluation as an integrated system that allows interrelating the strategic approach of purchasing management with the quantitative approach for the decision-making process.
2.1. Multi-criteria procedure for the selection of suppliers in the purchasing management process.
The author proposes the Multicriteria Procedure for the Selection of Suppliers (PROMUSEP), based on the use of multicriteria methods and techniques to help decision-making with the use of multiple experts, in addition to a simpler, but robust structure that allows the company to carry out the supplier selection process quickly and with the reliability required by the management of strategic purchases of construction services companies.
2.1.1. Phases of the PROMUSEP procedure.
The proposed procedure is made up of six interrelated phases and a preliminary one that are set out below:
Preliminary Phase:
The objective of this is to evaluate compliance with the principles of relevance, sufficiency, proactivity and creativity that are established as a general concept and that are necessary conditions for the application of PROMUSEP, encouraging the development of those who are dissatisfied. It is a stage of raising awareness and determining the feasibility of applying PROMUSEP and generating the need.
1st. Phase - Identification and definition:
1- Identification of possible experts.
2- Selection of the team of experts, who will also be called decision-makers (DM). Use a known method that guarantees reliability.
3- Diagnosis and determination of the resource needs to request suppliers.
3.1. See purchase needs and develop purchase plan.
3.2. Identification of potential suppliers.
3.3. Updating of a database with all the suppliers (real and potential) that the company owns.
4- Establish the decision criteria.
5- Reduction of the list of criteria. Here you can use the expert method (Kendall or other).
6- Classification and reduction of the list of alternatives (suppliers / products), 6.1. Study of shopping markets.
6.2. Request for offers from suppliers.
6.3. Analysis and classification of suppliers. Here you can use the ABC or other method.
6.4. Eliminate offers that do not meet specifications.
2nd Phase - Approval:
- Issuance of approval request. Present the reduced list of suppliers (pre-selection) with the information required in this regard to the clients so that they give their technical approval. Issuance of certification.
3rd Phase - Compilation of general information:
- Diagnosis of suppliers Documents to be issued by units Design hierarchies Information on suppliers Verification of information
4th Phase - System loading and evaluation:
- Loading the computer system (whichever one decides to use). Evaluate each alternative in each of the criteria. Here, a mathematical decision-making procedure will be used (AHP, ELECTRE, another that is appropriate) Obtaining consensus between the results of the experts Output reports Do manual analysis.
5th Phase - Processing of the presented results and decision making:
- Present proposals Review by the Committee Review by the Director Negotiate with the supplier Bidding Follow-up and control Evaluation of the result
6th Phase - Improvement of the procedure:
The improvement is conceived in two senses: the "Internal of the Procedure" and in the "Direction of the Improvements" attending to the results obtained in the selection of suppliers.
Conclusions
- Given the strategic importance of decision-making in the purchasing management of companies, it is necessary to use increasingly effective and efficient support tools for the selection process of suppliers or business alternative. It is vital for the implementation of any tool of support for decision-making, its interaction with existing information systems in the organization, as well as rely on software designed for this purpose.A procedure is proposed that incorporates novel aspects in the field of supplier evaluation and selection, theoretically supported by the principles of the multi-criteria decisional paradigm and applied mathematics. In addition to incorporating current concepts provided by other procedures studied as background.
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