Supplier selection and order allocation: a literature review

The goals of procurement managers in every industry usually are acquiring the right materials at the right time, at the right prices and quantities. To achieve these goals, the best suppliers should be selected. Supplier selection and order allocation have been studied extensively in the past. In this paper, we review the peer-reviewed journal publications in this area. The taxonomy in this research includes problem domain and operations research techniques. The problem domain is examined in three subcategories including Literature Reviews (LR), Deterministic Optimization (DO) models, and Uncertain Optimization (UO) models. Then, observations, recommendations, and future research directions in the field of supplier selection and order allocation are discussed.