Integration of particle swarm optimization-based fuzzy neural network and artificial neural network for supplier selection

This study is intended to develop an intelligent supplier decision support system which is able to consider both the quantitative and qualitative factors. It is composed of (1) the collection of quantitative data such as profit and productivity, (2) a particle swarm optimization (PSO)-based fuzzy neural network (FNN) to derive the rules for qualitative data, and (3) a decision integration model for integrating both the quantitative data and fuzzy knowledge decision to achieve the optimal decision. The results show that the decision support system developed in this study make more precise and favorable judgments in selecting suppliers after taking into account both qualitative and quantitative factors.