Supplier sustainability evaluation: f-TOPSIS and text mining approach

This paper introduces a novel approach to developing a generic sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) supplier evaluation framework that enables cross-system comparisons. Sustainability parameters were identified from the database of sustainability indicators and indices (DOSII) and analysed using text mining techniques to determine their relative importance. A fuzzy TOPSIS (f-TOPSIS) method was applied to evaluate supplier performance in the context of SSCM. The study demonstrates that a concise set of generic parameters, applicable across manufacturing-related supply chains, is sufficient for a comprehensive SSCM assessment. This research addresses the challenges often associated with the complexity and cost of implementing sustainable supply chains by offering a user-friendly and standardised evaluation tool. The proposed methodology highlights critical parameters, assigns relative weights, and utilises a simple linguistic framework for effective supplier assessment in SSCM.