An Integrated BOM Evaluation and Supplier Selection Model for a Design for Supply Chain System

In a supply chain, the design of a product can affect the activities in the forward and reverse supply chains. Given a product requirement, the components of the product can be designed with different specifications. As a result, the bill of material and the manufacturing activities will be different. Therefore, in different design alternative cases, there can be different decisions of supplier selection for producing the product. In this research, a new model for supplier selection and order assignment in a closed-loop supply chain system is presented. First, the design information of the design alternative cases are analyzed and represented in the form of a bill of material model. Next, a mathematical model is developed for supplier selection and order assignment by evaluating the design and closed-loop supply chain costs. Finally, a solution model using the particle swarm optimization method with a new encoding scheme is presented. The new model is developed to determine the decisions of design evaluation and supplier selection under the constraints of capacity and capability to achieve a minimized total cost objective. In this paper presentation, an example product is illustrated. The test results show that the model and solution method are feasible and practical.