The International Journal Of Engineering And Science (IJES) || Volume || 4 || Issue || 5 || Pages || PP.56-63|| 2015 || ISSN (e): 2319 – 1813 ISSN (p): 2319 – 1805
A Literature Survey: Fuzzy Logic and Qualitative Performance Evaluation of Supply Chain Management 1
Amina S. Omar, 2Prof. Mwangi Waweru, PhD, and 3Dr. Richard Rimiru, PhD
1
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Mombasa Campus, Institute of Computer Science and Information Technology, P. O. Box 94090–80107, Mombasa, Kenya, 2,3 Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Main Campus, Institute of Computer Science and Information Technology, P. O. Box Juja, Nairobi, Kenya, --------------------------------------------------------ABSTRACT-------------------------------------------------------------Fuzzy logic can be a powerful tool for managers to use instead of traditional mathematical models when evaluating the performance of supply chains. The flexibility of the model allows the decision maker to introduce vagueness, uncertainty, and subjectivity into the evaluation system. In this paper we survey an alternative method of the performance evaluation system as opposed to the traditional quantitative methods. Performance evaluations represent a critically important decision that often involves subjective information. Models and heuristic techniques that focus on the use of different types of information are available; however, with few exceptions, the models are not robust enough to be applied in a practical, managerially useful manner. Fuzzy logic models provide a reasonable solution to these common decision situations. After extensive exploration of the literature, we recommend an outcome of exploring Fuzzy logic approach in evaluating qualitative aspects of performance of supply chain management. In this paper we survey fuzzy logic as a robust and easy understanding method to evaluate qualitative aspects of performance of supply chains.
KEYWORDS - Supply Chain, Performance Measurement, qualitative measures and fuzzy logic ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date of Submission: 22-April-2015
Date of Accepted: 15-May-2015
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I. INTRODUCTION Many performance measures have been identified as appropriate for supply chain analysis, but have not yet been used in supply chain modeling research, although these measures may be important characteristics of a supply chain, their use in supply chain models is challenging, since the qualitative nature of such measures makes them difficult to incorporate into quantitative models [1]. Due to growing availability of qualitative information for performance measurement is more practical and easy to measure supply chain performance in linguistic terms, including vagueness concept [2]. Qualitative metrics do not possess quantitative values and cannot be measured by numerical numbers. In that case, linguistic terms are used to evaluate performance of qualitative metrics [2]. Fuzzy logic controller is useful when the problem is too complex to be solved with quantitative approaches [3]. Conventional measures (such as: profit, percentage of products delivered on time etc.) had the drawbacks of tending to measure financial metrics, and failed to include intangible and lagging indicators [4]. Fuzzy is an appropriate modeling method to deal with intangible and qualitative measures which uses fuzzy set theory and linguistic values and has been applied widely in various areas of Supply Chain Management [2]. Fuzzy logic is a problem solving methodology that provides a simple way of definite conclusions from vague and imprecise information. Fuzzy set theory was first introduced by Zadeh in 1965. He was motivated by observing that human reasoning can utilize concepts and knowledge that don’t have well-defined boundaries [5]. Fuzzy set theory is a generalization of the ordinary set theory. A useful approach for examining many real-world problems is fuzzy approximate reasoning or fuzzy logic. This technique is based on the fuzzy set theory [6] that allows the elements of a set to have varying degrees of membership, from a non-membership grade of 0 to a full membership of 100 per cent or grade 1. This smooth gradation of values is what makes fuzzy logic match well with the vagueness and uncertainty typical of many real world problems. Given the preceding discussion, this literature review searched studies that relate to qualitative Supply chain performance Management evaluation to fuzzy logic. Therefore, we investigated how fuzzy logic has been applied in this field.
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