An innovative hybrid fuzzy TOPSIS based on design of experiments for multi-criteria supplier evaluation and selection

In this article, nine essential criteria are considered to select the best supplier in supply chain risk management. For this purpose, to address the unspecified criteria and the analysis of the results, a mixed approach of fuzzy TOPSIS and design of experiments (DOE) were presented, and a 2k factorial design was used for factor analysis at both low and high levels. Combining the fuzzy TOPSIS and DOE gives the decision-makers more freedom to select because it can analyse the effects of different factors on the response variable by sensitivity analysis and according to different weights. The results of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) were calculated for each response variable. The obtained R2 value shows that the model works well with the elimination of effects. A comparison was made to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Besides, to rank the factors based on each response variable, the Pareto chart was used that was very impressive, and the ineffective factors were eliminated. Finally, the ranking results for each decision-maker were compared with Shannon entropy weight modification method and decision-makers.