FACTORS AFFECTING THE PETROCHEMICAL MAINTENANCE SUPPLIERSELECTION IN THAILAND

The objective of this research is to identify factors that affect supplier selection for the maintenance department petrochemical firms. The preliminary supplier selection model using a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) suggests six factors—cost, time, quality, reliability, flexibility, and human resources. This paper reports on the results of an expert survey (n = 113), which draws on the knowledge and experiences from supply and logistics managers and procurement specialists in the industry. Findings were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. The results show that different factors were relevant to different perceptions of success, including fully meeting needs, renewing supply contracts, and considering the supplier better than others. There were some surprising findings, including that maintaining inventory and general flexibility could have a negative effect on perceived supplier success. Also, cost was not associated with any of the success measures, indicating that supplier success is less related to cost than it is to functional performance