Integration of artificial neural network and MADA methods for green supplier selection

Abstract

In recent years, with the raising of awareness in environmental protection and sustainable development in enterprises, the green issue has become more and more critical in supply chain management. This study intends to develop a green supplier selection model which integrates artificial neural network (ANN) and two multi-attribute decision analysis (MADA) methods: data envelopment analysis (DEA) and analytic network process (ANP). It is called ANN–MADA hybrid method. ANN–MADA hybrid method considers both practicality in traditional supplier selection criteria and environmental regulations. It also overcomes traditional DEA drawbacks, limitations of data accuracy and decision-making units (DMUs) amounts constraint. The model evaluation results of an international well-known camera manufacturer indicate that the ANN–MADA hybrid method outperforms two other hybrid methods, ANN–DEA and ANP–DEA. It was also discovered that ANN–MADA has better power of discrimination and noise-insensitivity in evaluating green suppliers’ performances.