Selecting a cattle food supplier as a group decision-making problem

Abstract

Paper presents the result of a scientific experiment in which multi-criteria decision-making tools and a method from the social choice theory are used for solving typical agricultural problem: selecting a cattle food supplier in presence of five typical criteria. Four decision makers took part in this experiment came from different interest sectors (food industry, science, academy and private ownership), and they expectedly demonstrated different attitudes, interests and evaluation capacities. Four recognized national animal food suppliers are evaluated with respect to their performance in offering acceptable costs, food quality, supply reliability, prestige on the market and payment conditions. Decision-making methods involved are Compromise Programming and TOPSlS. A social choice method Borda count is used to aggregate individual rankings obtained by the decision makers into the group decision. Combination of multi-criteria and social choice methods described in this work at proof-of-concept level recommends itself as a trustful practice in related agricultural business.