A Risk-Integrated Supplier Selection Framework for Shipbuilding Materials: A Hybrid BWM–TOPSIS Approach

Background : Supplier selection in shipbuilding is a high-stakes decision problem due to stringent quality requirements, compressed construction schedules, and elevated project risks. This study develops a systematic decision-support framework for selecting shipbuilding material suppliers while enhancing supply-chain resilience. Methods : A hybrid multi-criteria decision-making framework integrating the Best Worst Method (BWM) and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is proposed. BWM is used to derive consistent criteria weights with fewer pairwise comparisons, while TOPSIS ranks supplier alternatives based on their distances from ideal and negative-ideal solutions. Results : Quality emerges as the most influential criterion (weight = 0.460), followed by risk-related factors, underscoring the importance of compliance, reliability, and risk mitigation in shipbuilding procurement. The TOPSIS results indicate that Supplier 3 achieves the highest closeness coefficient (Ci = 0.592), followed by Supplier 4, Supplier 2, and Supplier 1, with strong consistency observed in expert judgments. Conclusions : The proposed BWM–TOPSIS framework is rigorous, transparent, and replicable, supporting a Quality–Risk-Oriented multi-sourcing strategy to enhance supply continuity and operational resilience.