Supplier selection using the integrated MEREC – CoCoSo methods in a medical device company

Abstract

The medical device industry is a rapidly developing industry that includes various dynamics. Developed technologies show continuous improvement depending on diagnosis and treatment applications in health services. To keep up with this change and survive in an increasingly competitive environment, medical device manufacturers must be engaged in continuous improvement activities. This situation, necessary for many companies producing in the industrial field, gains even more importance in the medical device sector when the direct impact of product safety and quality on human life is considered. In companies producing medical devices, the legal requirements of the product being a medical device are followed by the notified bodies and authorized authorities within the framework of standards and regulations within the scope of quality processes. Increasing costs and liabilities with MDR 2017/45 have pushed medical device manufacturers to question their methods. In this study, it was determined that customer requests could not be met in a company producing medical devices, and it was observed that delivery times increased. In evaluating the reasons for the increase in delivery time, it was determined that supplier selection could have been carried out more effectively. For this purpose, six suppliers and six criteria were selected because of the company's sector knowledge and the evaluations of the company managers. The Combined Compromise Solution (CoCoSo) method, one of the new generation multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods, is proposed for ranking the suppliers in the supplier selection problem. Method The removal effects of criteria (MEREC) weighting method was used to weight supplier selection criteria. In this study, a new generation supplier selection method application in medical devices has been carried out. Considering the inadequacy of the studies on supplier selection in medical devices, the relevant research will contribute to the literature.