Sustainable Vendor Selection under Multi-Criteria Decision Framework using Fuzzy-AHP and TOPSIS: An Electronics Sector Case Study with 22 Sustainability Criteria

Abstract

Vendor selection under sustainable supply chain criteria presents a complex multi- criteria decision problem involving incommensurable performance dimensions, interdependent criteria, and inherent subjectivity in expert preference elicitation. This study develops and applies an integrated Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (Fuzzy- AHP) and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) framework for sustainable vendor selection in the printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing supply chain of a Tier- 1 electronics OEM. Twenty- two sustainability criteria spanning economic, environmental, and social dimensions were identified through structured literature review and validated through expert panel consultation. Fuzzy- AHP triangular membership functions were used to capture expert opinion uncertainty in pairwise criterion comparisons. TOPSIS was applied with Fuzzy- AHP- derived weights to rank 12 candidate PCB suppliers. The environmental criteria dimension received the highest aggregate weight (0.391). Vendor V1 achieved the highest TOPSIS Closeness Coefficient of 0.784, substantially exceeding the second- ranked supplier (0.743). Sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of top- two and bottom- two rankings across alternative weighting scenarios.