Quality-Based Supplier Selection Model for Products with Multiple Quality Characteristics

The concept of Industry 4.0 was first proposed by the German government in 2011. As the Internet of Things (IoT) becomes more prevalent and big data analysis technology becomes more mature, it is beneficial for the manufacturing industry to integrate and apply the related technologies to pursue the goal of smart manufacturing. Taiwan’s machine tool industry and downstream machine-tool purchasers, who are scattered around the world, have formed a machine-tool industry chain. To help the machine-tool industry and the suppliers of important components boost their process capabilities, ensure the final product quality of machine tools and improve the process capabilities of the entire industry chain, this study used radar charts to present the statistical testing information of the process capabilities of all quality characteristics, so that managers could have more complete information when evaluating and selecting appropriate suppliers. As noted in many studies, improving product quality and availability can reduce not only the rate of reworking and scrappage during production but also the frequency of maintenance or replacement of components after purchase. As a result, the loss of costs caused by reworking, scrappage, and maintenance can be diminished, carbon emissions can be lowered, and environmental pollution can be reduced as well, which will help to achieve sustainable operation in the entire machine tool industry chain.