Presenting an integrated decision-making framework based on the Best-Worst Method (BWM) and Fuzzy TOPSIS for evaluating, ranking, and selecting sustainable and resilient suppliers in the supply chain

Abstract

In today's competitive and unstable business environment, selecting sustainable and resilient suppliers has become one of the fundamental challenges of supply chain management. The existence of multiple and sometimes conflicting economic, environmental, social, and resilience criteria makes the decision-making process complex and uncertain. The aim of this research is to present an integrated decision-making framework based on the combination of the best-worst method (BWM) and fuzzy TOPSIS in order to evaluate, rank, and select sustainable and resilient suppliers. In the proposed framework, first, the criteria and sub-criteria affecting supplier selection are identified with a sustainability and resilience approach. Then, using the BWM method, the weights of the criteria are determined accurately and by reducing the inconsistency of expert judgments. Subsequently, the fuzzy TOPSIS method is used to rank suppliers and take into account the uncertainty and ambiguity in linguistic evaluations. The proposed approach enables the integration of quantitative and qualitative data, leading to more realistic decision-making in complex environments. The results of the research show that the proposed framework can be used as an efficient tool for supply chain managers to select suppliers that are resilient to disruptions and aligned with sustainable development goals