an optimization technique for vendor selection with quantity discounts using genetic algorithm

vendor selection decisions are complicated by the fact that various conflicting multi-objective factors must be considered in the decision making process. the problem of vendor selection becomes still more compli-cated with the inclusion of incremental discount pricing schedule. such hard combinatorial problems when solved using meta heuristics produce near optimal solutions. this paper proposes a multi-component multiple vendor selection model with vendors offering quantity discounts. this problem is then evaluated using ge-netic algorithm with a case study approach. combinatorial approach is used to group the vendors for selec-tion and genetic algorithm to allocate the optimal order quantities for each vendor.