Supplier Selection and Competitiveness — A Case Study on the Surface Mount Industry

This research investigates the supplier selection criteria in the surface mount technology (SMT) industry by conducting in-depth interviews with experts to design the questionnaire for collecting data. Questionnaires are then sent to a selected list of SMT companies in Taiwan. The data are then analyzed through statistical methods. Additionally, the factor analysis is used to extract major components and construct the evaluation criteria, which includes five main categories and 41 evaluation indicators. The Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis is also used to consider factors that affect strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of logistics in a firm. Those factors include competitions between the existing competitors, threats from potential entrants, and threats from the alternatives. The five forces analysis is conducted to survey the bargaining power of the buyers. The study compiles views and recommendations from supplier management professionals in SMT industry, as...