Decision support system for selecting collaborative product development partners

Collaboration is becoming a new current paradigm for product manufacturing, as computer networks facilitate collaboration with partners in widely distributed locations. Computer network technologies allow a large number of candidate partners to be examined for possible collaboration, so that the most suitable partner, or partners, can be selected from a broader, more diverse group than previously possible. In order to take best advantage of the collaboration paradigm, the precise method for selecting collaborative product development partners is an important technological point. This paper proposes a decision support method for selecting an optimum collaborative product development partner from a group of potential partners. First, the effectiveness of collaborative product development and the need for a partner selection method is clarified. Next, a method for selecting the most suitable product development partner is constructed. Finally, a case study is given to demonstrate the utility of the proposed method.