Measuring the leanness of suppliers using principal component analysis technique

Abstract

A technique that helps management to reduce costs and improve quality is 'lean supply chain management', which focuses on the elimination of all wastes in every stage of the supply chain and is derived from 'agile production'. This research aims to assess and rank the suppliers in an auto industry, based upon the concept of 'production leanness'. The focus of this research is on the suppliers of a company called Touse-Omron Naein. We have examined the literature about leanness, and classified its criteria into ten dimensions and 76 factors. A questionnaire was used to collect the data, and the suppliers were ranked using the principal component analysis (PCA) technique.