Selecting the Right Suppliers in Procurement Process along Supply Chain-a Mathematical Modeling Approach

Abstract

Procurement management is a function for B2B market and a complex concept based on a continuous buying cycle and supposes: determining the need, taking the decision of buying, identification of sources, selecting and choosing the right suppliers, contracting, and maintaining the relationships with the future contractors.Supplier selection is a challenging task along supply chain and is based on some important criteria in order to choose the right supplier and maintain with it a long and prosper relationship. In order to select the right supplier, the buyer may use quantitative and qualitative methods. In this article we present the importance of supplier selection along supply chain and the used criteria to do this. We also present a supplier selection method based on mathematical models, especially on regression function and time series analysis, in order to show that they bring important benefits for the companies which used them.