Supplier development (SD) has been identified as a critical strategy for manufacturing firms in managing and improving the capabilities of suppliers. However, implementing this program necessitates an investment of time, commitment, and finances. The selection of the most beneficial practices to be implemented in order for this program to succeed can ensure a better program output. Therefore, it is crucial for the manufacturing firm to identify which practices should be prioritized and implemented for their SD program. Although SD has been widely researched, the method to evaluate SD practices, particularly in the Malaysian manufacturing industry is virtually non-existent. This paper aims to fill the gap by proposing a method to evaluate the SD practices using the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (Fuzzy AHP). Fuzzy AHP is used to rank the practices involved in the program by capturing the evaluation from experts with strong industrial backgrounds in Malaysian Industry. There are five criteria for SD practices: supplier certification (SC), green capability (GC), investment and resource transfer (IRT), feedback and evaluation (FE), and knowledge transfer (KT), with 30 alternatives identified. The findings of the Fuzzy AHP method, suggest that KT is given the most weight. Thus, the alternatives associated with KT must be prioritized to achieve the objectives of the SD program. The results obtained can be referred to by manufacturing practitioners as guidelines for seeking the opportunity to implement an SD program in enhancing the capabilities of suppliers.

Implementation of supplier development (SD) is appropriate for a firm that intends to reduce costs and streamline its operations while minimising defective products. However, the number of practices involved in the SD program is too large, making them difficult to manage. Conventionally, the selection of decisions is based on multicriteria and is often complex and unstructured. Thus, this paper proposed the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) methodologies to evaluate and select SD practices. Both methods produced the same result. The results obtained can be indicated by the production professionals as guidelines to look for the opportunity to implement the SD program to improve the capabilities of their suppliers.

Responsiveness in manufacturing is now a key to a competitive edge in an advanced manufacturing environment. The mutual relationship with a supplier is important in formulating the responsive supply chain. Therefore, this study is carried out to discover the extent of supplier development (SD) practices in influencing the manufacturing responsiveness (MR) to the manufacturing firms particularly in Malaysia. Data was collected from 71 manufacturing firms that accredited ISO 14001 via survey questionnaires. The results reveal that the development of suppliers has a positive and meaningful impact on MR. However, not all SD practices correlate equally to the MR practices. This finding can be used as a guideline for the manufacturing industry, mainly in Malaysia to understand better and deeper valuable information on the impact of SD practices towards manufacturing responsiveness as well as strengthening the SD practices to further enhance a responsiveness level in manufacturing.