Equipment procurement for printed circuit board manufacturing using the analytic hierarchy process

For optimal equipment procurement in Taiwan, first, the specifications and prices of a product are evaluated. Based on these evaluations, procurement decisions are made. Ensuring accurate evaluation criteria for procurement is a multicriteria decision making (MCDM) problem. Printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturers have not grasped the decision-making factors of the new equipment specification, and they continue to use the previous generation specifications as the decision-making criteria for new equipment; this results in inappropriate evaluation criteria. When new equipment with different specifications is launched, purchasers may still use the specifications of older equipment as a basis for their purchase decisions. For example, thermal power generation specifications are often used to evaluate equipment for nuclear power generation. The difference in criteria renders it difficult to make decisions for new equipment. We proposed the use of a scientific method to establish a set of criteria decision-making models for equipment procurement to help PCB factories accurately evaluate contemporary specifications. This research established criteria for new technologies to help decision makers select the most appropriate method. We used the Delphi method and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to provide insights into technological and commercial requirements, and a model was further developed for optimal equipment procurement.