OICC Press International Journal of Mathematical Modelling & Computations 2228-6233 14 3 2024 09 10 A Supplier Evaluation Approach for Designing an Optimal Supply Chain Network: A Novel Mathematical DEA Model 201 211 10.71932/ijm.2024.1187089 EN Javad Mohammad Ghasemi Department of industrial engineering, Central tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran S. Esmaeil Najafi Department of Industrial Engineering, Science and Research Branch of the Islamic Azad University Mohammad Reza Nabatchian Department of industrial engineering, Central tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Mohammad Fallah Department of Industrial Engineering, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Journal Article 2024 09 10 The supplier evaluation process is a systematic approach used by organizations to determine and choose the best vendors to construct an optimal supply chain network. In other words, in supply chain management, identifying the suitable suppliers can play a key role in the success of the supply chain networks. To this end, different researchers have developed various approaches to evaluate and select the best suppliers. The current study provides a novel mathematical data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach to evaluate the suppliers and select the best efficient supplier among the set of efficient suppliers. The proposed approach solves only one mixed integer DEA model to determine the best efficient supplier. The approach not only determines the best efficient supplier, but also finds and ranks all efficient suppliers. Moreover, the presented model considers the decision maker preferences about the relative importance of supplier evaluation factors. We provide a real-life numerical example to illustrate and show the applicability and efficacy of the new approach.