ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyday life in societies around the world. One of the most severe consequences has been the social isolation imposed by this extremely contagious disease. In this context, many people began looking for a pet for the first time. In Brazil, for instance, the pet sector increased its financial returns in 2020. In addition, companies that produce pet foods have experienced problems with the supply of materials. Supply chain disruption is a problem faced by many different organizations during this time of crisis. This study, therefore, investigated the supply of raw materials stored in the silos and tanks of a large company. This company have operations in 80 countries across the world and produces different products, including pet food. Thirteen raw materials used to produce pet food were con-sidered. In addition, eight criteria of the company's supply process were identified and explored. Moreover, the Flexible and Interactive Tradeoff (FITradeoff) method, which is a Multiple Criteria Decision Mak-ing/Aiding (MCDM/A) method, was applied to rank the raw materials based on supply difficulty. In terms of supply criticality, the order of materials was established from less critical to most critical. These results can be used by companies to better plan the receipt of these materials to reduce the risk of supply chain-related disruptions and propose better ways to distribute activities between planners to help them in their daily management. © 2023 Brazilian Operations Research Society.
ABSTRACT
The study demonstrates the flexible functioning of the FITradeoff method that integrates the Holistic Evaluation with the Elicitation by Decomposition. For that purpose, the new features of the FITradeoff method in which integrates the two paradigms of preference modeling have been explored to solve a real multi-criteria decision problem. In this paper, a truck acquisition problem, at a midsize carrier faced with an uncertain and turbulent scenario due to the Coronavirus pandemic, was solved using the FITradeoff method. In this problem, seven criteria were considered to represent the Decision-Maker objectives. Also, six trucks (alternatives) have been examined by the Decision-Maker (Financial Director). The FITradeoff DSS supported the company as to obtain, through the combination of Holistic Evaluation and Elicitation by Decomposition, a ranking of all the trucks based on the preferences expressed during the decision process to ensure lower costs and higher profits in the long run, also guaranteeing a quicker (more efficient) resolution of the problem. © 2022, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.