Outsourcing modelling using a novel interval-valued fuzzy quantitative strategic planning matrix (QSPM) and multiple criteria decision-making (MCDMs)

Abstract Outsourcing drives companies to focus on: their capabilities, advantages of external resources, and decreasing overall operational costs. Selecting appropriate alliances, which are aligned with the company's strategies, establishes a situation through which the firms can enhance their technical capabilities and achieve new technologies. However, two critical issues in outsourcing modeling should be addressed: how to find strategic indicators for building successful alliances, and how to select these partners. Besides, as the imprecise and vague information (due to a lack of data) existing in the outsourcing models cannot be neglected, the application of fuzzy interval sets could efficiently address the complexity of these problems. To deal with these issues, this paper proposes a two-step interval-based framework for the problem. At the beginning, and for the first time, the novel integration of an interval valued fuzzy (IVF) version of strength-weakness-opportunity-threats (SWOT) technique and the quantitative strategic planning matrix (QSPM) with Gap analysis is designed to find the most effective strategies for the alliance evaluation, and to weight them. In the next step, four interval-valued version of multiple criteria decision-making methods (IVF-MCDMs) are implemented to evaluate the strategic partners. Finally, the results are aggregated with the help of the utility interval approach, and a sensitivity analysis is implemented to assess the robustness of the proposed methodology. To illustrate the efficiency of the proposed approach, a real partner selection problem at a holding car manufacturing factory in Iran is presented.