Decision problems: green suppliers selection

Within the SMEs, developing relationships with suppliers is a major concern of procurement specialists. Their selection is considered a delicate problem for the organizations that want a strategic position in the market due to the direct impact on the cash flow and profitability. The process of evaluating and selecting suppliers is rather complicated due to a range of influencing factors, the combination of quantitative and qualitative selection criteria, the number and diversity of suppliers along the supply chain, etc. Managing the green supply chain means managing the flows of funds, information and products between them, in all its stages, in order to find the right balance between the ecological and economic aspects. A challenge for SMEs is the separation of the economic growth from the degradation of the environment due to the varied pressures, of the increasingly strict environmental regulations, but also of increasing the awareness of the consumers and the change of attitude for the purchase of organic products. The article gives an overview of the criteria used as a reference in the issue of supplier evaluation and selection; the MADM model for multi-criteria decision used in the problem of supplier selection is presented; a case study on the efficient choice of equipment under the conditions of using green and non-green criteria is done.