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International Journal of Production Research

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A bi-level constraint-oriented outsourcing framework

for orchestration of an ERP system
a
Faramak Zandi
a
Faculty of Technology and Engineering, Department of Industrial Engineering , University
of Science and Culture , Tehran , Iran
Published online: 06 Sep 2013.

To cite this article: Faramak Zandi , International Journal of Production Research (2013): A bi-level constraint-
oriented outsourcing framework for orchestration of an ERP system, International Journal of Production Research, DOI:
10.1080/00207543.2013.828178

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 International Journal of Production Research, 2013
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2013.828178

A bi-level constraint-oriented outsourcing framework for orchestration of an ERP system

Faramak Zandi*

Faculty of Technology and Engineering, Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Science and Culture, Tehran, Iran
(Received 15 June 2012; accepted 9 July 2013)

Outputs of each enterprise resource planning (ERP) process in an ERP system could constraint outputs of the next ERP
processes. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the ability of ERP processes to support the orchestration of an ERP
system. This paper presents a bi-level constraint-oriented outsourcing framework to identify any ERP process that effects
on the orchestration of an ERP system. The contribution of the proposed bi-level constraint-oriented outsourcing
framework for orchestration of ERP is twofold: (1) it develops the traditional constraints management from a crisp
single-criteria environment to a fuzzy multi-criteria environment; and (2) it develops a linear programming technique for
multidimensional analysis of preference (LINMAP) model to a fuzzy group bi-level LINMAP model. A case study
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demonstrates the applicability of the proposed constraint-oriented outsourcing framework for orchestration of ERP
modules and processes.
Keywords: enterprise resource planning system; outsourcing; constraints management; linear programming techniques
for multidimensional of analysis preference

1. Introduction
In 1990, Gartner Group first employed the acronym enterprise resource planning (ERP; Esteves and Pastor 2001) as an
extension of material requirements planning, later manufacturing resource planning (Moon 2007) and computer-inte-
grated manufacturing. The purpose of ERP is to facilitate the flow of information between all business functions inside
the boundaries of the organisation and manage the connexions to outside stakeholders (Bidgoli 2004). Indeed, ERP
systems integrate internal and external management information across an organisation, finance/accounting, manufactur-
ing, sales and service orchestration and customer relationship management. Many research articles dealing with ERP
systems have been published. A number of papers have indicated critical success factors for ERP implementation
(Buckhout, Frey, and Nemec 1999; Nah, Lau, and Kuang 2001; Soh et al. 2002; Stefanou 2001; Turner and Chung
2005; Umble 2002). Other academic researchers have established a link between ERP and outsourcing decisions (Araz,
Ozfirat, and Ozkarahan 2007; Kahraman, Beskese, and Kaya 2010). Further studies in ERP systems have conducted a
number of ERP literature reviews (Botta-Genoulaz, Millet, and Grabot 2005; Esteves and Pastor 2001; Moon 2007;
Shehab et al. 2004).
But statistics show that more than 70% of ERP implementations fail to achieve their corporate goals. Therefore, the
aim of this paper is to present a bi-level outsourcing decision framework to identify the main constraints in an ERP sys-
tem.
The difficulty of the ERP outsourcing problem originates from the presence of ERP modules at its first level and the
outsourcing problem of ERP processes at the second level. Hence, we need to develop a bi-level outsourcing model. In
the existing literature, this problem is formulated using single-level outsourcing models. For this purpose, in this paper,
we develop a bi-level outsourcing model where the second-level outsourcing team will determine the most adequate
outsourcing processes for the second level of the ERP outsourcing problem based on the most adequate outsourcing
modules obtained from the first-level outsourcing team in the first level of the ERP outsourcing problem.
Multiple-criteria group decision-making or multiple-criteria group decision analysis is a sub-discipline of operations
research that explicitly considers multiple criteria in group decision-making environments. Multiple attribute group
decision-making (MAGDM) problems are an important type of multi-criteria group decision-making (MCGDM)
problems and are wide spread in real-life decision situations (Hwang and Lin 1987; Srinivasan and Shocker 1981).

*Email: zandi@iust.ac.ir
Ó 2013 Taylor & Francis
 2 F. Zandi

Table 1. Comparison of the existing methods.

Criteria The type of information needed from DMs applicability of Linear

DMs’ preference Pairwise programming
Method information on alternatives preference for sensitivity analysis
TOPSIS
MDS
ELECTRE
SAW
Linear
Assignment
AHP/ANP
LINMAP

There are many different MCDA methods. To ease the selection of the appropriate method, we used the following crite-
ria to reveal strengths and weaknesses of the methods:
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• The type of information needed from the decision-makers (DMs).

• DMs’ preference information on alternatives.
• Pairwise preference.
• Applicability of sensitivity analysis.

With reference to Table 1, we developed linear programming technique for multidimensional analysis of preference
(LINMAP) model to identify ERP processes that restrict orchestration of ERP.
LINMAP method requires the DMs’ preference information at the start of the method for transforming a MAGDM
problem into essentially a single-criterion problem. But, this preference information obtained from the decision-makers’
judgements is vague or fuzzy and it may not be appropriate to represent them by accurate numerical values. Recently,
lots of literatures investigated on MAGDM problems in the fuzzy environment.
When using this existing LINMAP method, the following difficulties may be encountered in the ERP outsourcing
problem:

(1) The traditional LINMAP overemphasises single-level decision analysis and often neglects to consider bi-level
decision analysis in the ERP outsourcing process.
(2) Outsourcing team members often use verbal expressions and linguistic variables for qualitative judgements.

Table 2. The fuzzy weighted collective ordered matrices for ERP system.

Meeting
Core Business Operational Security and technical
ERP competencies impact excellence compliance Cost saving Time saving requirements

Finance and (8.5,9.5,0.5,0.5) (8.5,9.5,0.5,0.5) (6.5,7.5,0.5,0.5) (8.5,9.5,0.5,0.5) (0.5,1.5,0.5,0.5) (2.5,3.5,0.5,0.5) (0.5,1.5,0.5,0.5)

performance
management
Customer (8.5,9.5,0.5,0.5) (8.5,9.5,0.5,0.5) (8.5,9.5,0.5,0.5) (6.5,7.5,0.5,0.5) (2.5,3.5,0.5,0.5) (4.5,5.5,0.5,0.5) (0.5,1.5,0.5,0.5)
relationship
management
Human resource (6.5,7.5,0.5,0.5) (6.5,7.5,0.5,0.5) (6.5,7.5,0.5,0.5) (6.5,7.5,0.5,0.5) (4.5,5.5,0.5,0.5) (2.5,3.5,0.5,0.5) (4.5,5.5,0.5,0.5)
management
Supply-chain (8.5,9.5,0.5,0.5) (8.5,9.5,0.5,0.5) (8.6,9.6,0.5,0.5) (6.5,7.5,0.5,0.5) (4.5,5.5,0.5,0.5) (6.5,7.5,0.5,0.5) (2.5,3.5,0.5,0.5)
management
Technical (6.5,7.5,0.5,0.5) (6.5,7.5,0.5,0.5) (6.5,7.5,0.5,0.5) (8.5,9.5,0.5,0.5) (6.5,7.5,0.5,0.5) (4.5,5.5,0.5,0.5) (8.5,9.5,0.5,0.5)
architecture
 International Journal of Production Research 3

Therefore, we develop a fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model for solving the ERP outsourcing problems with preference
information obtained from an outsourcing team at the higher level and another outsourcing team at the second level.
The theory of constraints (TOC) is a management paradigm that views any manageable system as being limited
in achieving more of its goals by a very small number of constraints. There is always at least one constraint, and
TOC uses a focusing process to identify the constraint and restructure the rest of the organisation around it. Con-
straint management is an outgrowth of TOC, a set of principles and concepts introduced by (Goldratt 1986). In its
brief 20-year history, TOC has developed rapidly in terms of both methodology and area of applications (Chakr-
aborty, Majumder, and Sarkar 2006; Coman and Ronen 2000; Cox and Spencer 1998; Dettmer 1997; Hilmola
2001; Kendall 1997; Klein and DeBruine 1995; Mabin and Balderstone 2000; Murauskaite and Adomauskas 2008;
Olson 1998; Ray, Sarkar, and Sanyal 2010; Spector 2011; Umble and Murakami 2006; Watson and Patti 2008).
Data containing cardinal preferences may be unreliable and imperfect sometimes. These data sometimes contain par-
tially ignorant facts. In recent years, several researchers have combined fuzzy set theory with TOC. Bhattacharya
and Vasant (2006) introduced an alternative approach to traditional linear programming (LP) solution of TOC prod-
uct-mix, i.e. a fuzzy linear programming (FLP) approach, suitable for improving solutions obtained from TOC. The
analysis and modelling of the FLP–TOC problem presented in this research is based on linear objective functions
and constraints in a form of non-linear membership functions. Comparison of traditional LP with FLP model has
also been addressed to elucidate the advantages of FLP in TOC. Bhattacharya, Vasant, and Sushanto (2007) demon-
strated the development of a novel compromise linear programming having fuzzy resources (CLPFR) model as well
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as its simulation for a TOC product mix problem. The authors simulated the level of satisfaction of the decision-
maker as well as the degree of fuzziness of the solution found using the CLPFR model. This research has reflected
the fuzziness in the availability of resources of the TOC product mix problem.
Another difficulty of the ERP constraint-oriented outsourcing problem originates from the presence of more than
one criterion. In the existing literature, applications of constraints management are based on individual single-level and
single-criterion analysis. Therefore, we developed a constraint-oriented outsourcing framework that combines bi-level
optimisation with TOC and a fuzzy MAGDM approach for identification of ERP modules and processes that restrict
orchestration of ERP.
We organise this paper into four sections. In Section 2, we illustrate the details of the proposed bi-level constraints-
oriented outsourcing framework. In Section 3, we present a case study to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed
constraint-oriented outsourcing framework in orchestration ERP modules and processes. In Section 4, we present a
dimensional comparison of the bi-level LINMAP model with the existing single-level LINMAP model. The paper will
present conclusions and future research directions in Section 5.

2. The proposed framework

The model depicted in Figure 1 along with the mathematical notations and definitions presented in Appendix 1 are used
to outsource ERP processes.
As shown in Figure 1, the proposed constraints-oriented outsourcing framework is divided into the following two
levels:

Level 1: Outsourcing the most adequate modules in ERP

In this level, the outsourcing team identifies the most adequate outsourcing module in ERP. This level is divided into
the following two phases:

Phase 1-1: Establishing the outsourcing team and identifying modules

In this phase, we establish the outsourcing team to identify ERP modules. This phase is divided into the following two
steps:

Step 1-1-1: Establishing the outsourcing team

In the first step, the top manager establishes an outsourcing team to identify ERP modules as constraints that they
should be outsourced as follows:

T (outsourcing) ¼ ½o1 ; o2 ; . . . ; or ; . . . ; om  (1)

Next, the top manager determines a voting power weight to each of the members of the outsourcing team as follows:
 4 F. Zandi

LEVEL 1: Outsourcing the most adequate modules in ERP

PHASE 1-1: Establishing the outsourcing team and identifying modules

STEP 1- 1-1: Establishing the outsourcing team

STEP 1-1-2: Identifying ERP modules as candidates for outsourcing

PHASE 1-2: Identifying ERP's constraints

STEP 1-2-1: Identifying the constraint management criteria for identifying weak ERP modules

STEP 1-2-2: Constructing the fuzzy individual ordinal rank matrices

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STEP 1-2-3: Constructing the fuzzy weighted collective ordered matrix

STEP 1-2-4: Identifying the most adequate outsourcing module in ERP as a high level

LEVEL 2: Outsourcing Outsourcing the most adequate processes in ERP

PHASE 2-1: Establishing the outsourcing sub-teams and identifying ERP processes

STEP 2- 1-1: Establishing the outsourcing sub-team

STEP 2-1-2: Identifying ERP processes of the most adequate outsourcing module in ERP

PHASE 2-2: Identifying the most adequate outsourcing processes in ERP as core constraints

STEP 2-2-1: Identifying the sub-criteria for outsourcing ERP processes

STEP 2-2-2: Constructing the fuzzy individual ordinal rank sub-matrices

STEP 2-2-3: Constructing the fuzzy weighted collective ordered sub-matrix

STEP 2-2-4: Identifying the most adequate outsourcing process in ERP

Figure 1. The proposed bi-level constraint-oriented outsourcing framework for orchestration of an ERP system.

W (outsourcing) ¼ ½w(o1 ); w(o2 ); . . . w(or ); . . . ; w(om ) (2)

Step 1-1-2: Identifying ERP modules as candidates for outsourcing

In this step, the outsourcing team identifies the ERP modules. Let us assume that the outsourcing team has identified n
modules as follows:
 International Journal of Production Research 5

A ¼ ½M1 ; M2 ; . . . ; Mh ; . . . ; Mn  (3)

Furthermore, assume D1 ¼ f(k1 ; l1 )g denotes outsourcing team’s preference judgements as a set of ERP module pairs
(k1 ; l1 ) where the ERP module k1 as an outsourcing candidate is preferred to the ERP module l1 .

Phase 1-2: Identifying ERP’s constraints

In this phase, the group ordinal approach is used to identify weak ERP modules as core constraints based on bi-level
multi-criteria constraints management. This phase is divided into the following steps:

Step 1-2-1: Identifying the strategic constraints management criteria for identifying weak ERP modules
In this step, the outsourcing team determines a list of the strategic constraints management criteria relevant to identify
weak ERP modules as core constraints along with their importance weights. Let us consider x1 ; x2 ; . . . ; xt as the strategic
constraints management criteria.
Step 1-2-2: Constructing the fuzzy individual ordinal rank matrices
The fuzzy individual ordinal rank matrix evaluated by the rth outsourcing team member is constructed as follows:
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Step 1-2-3: Constructing the fuzzy weighted collective ordered matrix

In this step, the fuzzy weighted collective ordered matrix is constructed as follows:

where
Pm ~r
r¼1 w(or )  dij
d~ij ¼ Pm i ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; n; j ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; t (6)
r¼1 w(or )

Step 1-2-4: Calculating poorness of fit at the first level of the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model
In this step, the weighted average values for the ERP modules are calculated as follows:

X
t1
S~Mi1 (1) ¼  w(xj1 )  d~i1 j1 (7)
j1 ¼1

Supposing that the outsourcing team has stated ERP module k1 better than ERP module l1, this implies that
S~Mk1 (1)  S~Ml1 (1), but this prediction may be false. Therefore, the amount of errors in pairwise comparisons of ERP
modules is stated as S~ (1):
(Mk1 ;Ml1 )

(
0 S~Mk1 (1)  S~Ml1 (1) nh io
S~(M

;Ml1 ) (1) ¼ ) ~
S (1) ¼ Max 0; ~M (1)  S~M (1)
S (8)
k
1 S~Mk1 (1)  S~Ml1 (1) S~Mk1 (1)  S~Ml1 (1) (M k1 ;M l1 ) k1 l 1
 6 F. Zandi

and we get:
X
~ ¼ poorness of fit ¼
B(1) S~(M

k ;Ml1 ) (1) (9)
1
(k1 ;l1 )2D

Step 1-2-5: Calculating goodness of fit at the first level of the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model
In this step, in the opposition of S~(M 
k1 ;Ml1 )
(1), a new value called credibility judgement degree is defined between two
ERP modules k1 and l1, which is denoted by S~(M þ
k1 ;Ml1 )
(1):
(
S~Ml1 (1)  S~Mk1 (1) S~Ml1 (1)  S~Mk1 (1) n h io
S~(M
þ
(1) ¼ ) ~þ
S (1) ¼ Max 0; ~M (1)  S~M (1)
S (10)
k1 ;Ml1 )
0 S~M (1)  S~M (1)
l1
(M k1
;M l
k1
1
) l 1 k 1

and we get:
X
~ ¼ goodness of fit ¼ S~(M
þ
G(1) k 1
;Ml1 ) (1) (11)
(k1 ;l1 )2D

Step 1-2-6: Identifying the most adequate outsourcing module in ERP

In this step, formulation of the first level of the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model is determined as follows:
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~
We minimise B(1) as follows:
~
Min B(1) (12)

St:
~
G(1) ~
 B(1)

This can be converted to the following LP problem:

X X n h io
Min S~(M

k ;Ml1 ) (1) ¼ Max 0; S~Mk1 (1)  S~Ml1 (1) (13)
1
(k1 ;l1 )2D (k1 ;l1 )2D

St:
X h i
S~(M
þ
k ;Ml1
~
) (1)  S(Mk ;Ml1 ) (1) ¼ ~1
1 1
(k1 ;l1 )2D

Assume: n h io
Max 0; S~Mk1 (1)  S~Ml1 (1) ¼ ~zk1 l1 (1) ) ~zk1 l1 (1)  0 and ~zk1 l1 (1)  S~Mk1 (1)  S~Ml1 (1) (14)

On the other hand, we have:

S~(M
þ
k ;Ml1 ) (1)  S~(M

k ;Ml1 ) (1) ¼ S~Mk1 (1)  S~Ml1 (1) (15)
1 1

Therefore, Equation (12) can be rewritten as:

X
Min ~zk1 ;l1 (1) (16)
(k1 l1 )2D

St:
X h i
S~Mk1 (1)  S~Ml1 (1) ¼ ~1
(k1 ;l1 )2D

~zk1 l1 ð1Þ  S~Mk1 ð1Þ  S~Mk1 ð1Þ

~zk1 l1 (1)  0
 International Journal of Production Research 7

Consequently, the most adequate outsourcing module is obtained using the first level of the following LINMAP model
X
Min ~zk1 l1 (1) (The first level of the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model) (17)
(k1 ;l1 )2D

St:
X
t1 X
w(xj1 )  (d~k1 j1  d~l1 j1 ) ¼ ~1
j1 ¼1 (k1 ;l1 )2D

X
t1
w(xj1 )  (d~i1 k1  d~i1 l1 ) þ ~zk1 l1 (1)  0
j1 ¼1

~zk1 l1 (1)  0 (k1 ; l1 ) 2 D1

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w(xj1 )  0 j1 ¼ 1; 2; . . . t1

The optimal solution for the first level of the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model (16) is the most adequate outsourcing mod-
ule in ERP.

Level 2: Outsourcing the most adequate processes in ERP

In this level, the outsourcing sub-team identifies the most adequate outsourcing processes of the weakest ERP module.
This level is divided into the following three phases:

Phase 2-1: Establishing the outsourcing sub-teams and identifying ERP processes
In this phase, the outsourcing team establishes outsourcing sub-teams to outsource the most adequate processes of the
weakest ERP module. Let us assume that the hth ERP module is the optimal solution for the first level of the bi-level
LINMAP model (16). This phase is divided into the following two steps:

Step 2-1-1: Establishing the outsourcing sub-team

In the first step, the outsourcing team establishes an outsourcing sub-team to identify the most adequate processes of the
weakest ERP module as constraints that should be outsourced as follows:

ST (outsourcing) ¼ ½s(o1 ); s(o2 ); . . . ; s(om ) (18)

Next, the outsourcing team determines a voting power weight for each sub-team member as follows:
 
W h (outsourcing) ¼ wh ½s(o1 ); wh ½s(o2 ); . . . ; wh ½s(om ) (19)

Step 2-1-2: Identifying ERP processes of the most adequate outsourcing module in ERP
In this step, the outsourcing sub-team identifies the ERP processes of the most adequate outsourcing module in ERP.
Let us assume that the outsourcing sub-team has identified nh following ERP processes of the most adequate outsourc-
ing module in ERP as follows:  
Mh ¼ Ph (1); Ph (2); . . . ; Ph (g); . . . ; Ph (nh ) (20)

Furthermore, assume D2 (h) ¼ f(k2 ; l2 )g denotes the outsourcing sub-team’s preference judgements as a set of ERP
process pairs (k2 ; l2 ) where the ERP process k2 as an outsourcing candidate is preferred to the ERP process l2 .
 8 F. Zandi

Phase 2-2: Identifying the most adequate outsourcing processes in ERP as core constraints
In this phase, the group ordinal approach is used to identify the most adequate outsourcing processes in ERP as
core constraints based on bi-level multi-criteria constraints management. This phase is divided into the following
three steps:

Step 2-2-1: Identifying the constraints management sub-criteria for outsourcing ERP processes
In this step, the outsourcing sub-team determines a list of the constraints management sub-criteria. Let us consider
sx1 (h); sx2 (h); . . . ; sxth (h) as the constraints management sub- criteria for outsourcing the ERP processes of the most ade-
quate ERP module.

Step 2-2-2: Constructing the fuzzy individual ordinal rank sub-matrices for the most adequate outsourcing module in
ERP
The fuzzy individual ordinal rank sub-matrix evaluated by the outsourcing sub-team member is constructed as follows:
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Step 2-2-3: Constructing the fuzzy weighted collective ordered sub-matrix for the most adequate outsourcing module in
ERP
In this step, the fuzzy weighted collective ordered sub-matrix of the most adequate outsourcing module in ERP is
constructed as follows:

where
P
mh
wh ½sr (o)  d~ijr (h)
d~ij (h) ¼ r¼1
i ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; n; j ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; th ; h ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; n (23)
P
mh
wh ½sr (o)
r¼1

Step 2-2-4: Calculating poorness of fit at the second level of the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model
In this step, the weighted average values for the ERP processes are calculated as follows:
X
th
S~Mi2 (2) ¼  w(sxj2 )  d~i2 j2 (h) (24)
j2 ¼1

Supposing that the outsourcing team has stated ERP process k2 better than ERP process l2, this implies that
S~Mk2 (2)  S~Ml2 (2), but this prediction may be false. Therefore, the amount of errors in pairwise comparisons of ERP
processes is stated as S~(M 
k ;Ml )
(2):
(2 2
0 S~Mk2 (2)  S~Ml2 (2) n h io
S~(M

(2) ¼ ) ~
S (2) ¼ Max 0; ~M (2)  S~M (2)
S (25)
k2 ;Ml2 )
S~Mk2 (2)  S~Ml2 (2) S~Mk1 (2)  S~Ml2 (2) (Mk2 ;Ml2 ) k2 l2
 International Journal of Production Research 9

and we get:
X
~
B(2) ¼ poorness of fit ¼ S~(M

k ;Ml2 ) (2) (26)
2
(k2 ;l2 )2D(h)

Step 2-2-5: Calculating goodness of fit at the second level of the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model
In this step, in the opposition of S~(M

k2 ;Ml2 )
(2), a new value called credibility judgement degree is defined between ERP
processes k2 and l2, which is denoted by S~(M þ
k ;Ml )
(2):
2 2

(
S~Ml2 (2)  S~Mk2 (2) S~Ml2 (2)  S~Mk 2 (2) n h io
S~(M
þ
;Ml2 ) (2) ¼ ~ ~ ) S~(M
þ
k2 ;Ml2 )
(2) ¼ Max 0; S~Ml2 (2)  S~Mk2 (2) (27)
k 2 0 SMl2 (2)  SMk2 (2)

and we get:
X
~ ¼ goodness of fit ¼ S~(M
þ
G(2) k 2
;Ml2 ) (2) (28)
(k2 ;l2 )2D(h)
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Step 2-2-6: Identifying the most adequate outsourcing process in ERP

In this step, formulation of the second level of the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model is determined as follows:
We minimise S~(M 
k ;Ml )
(2) as follows:
2 2

~
Min B(2) (29)

St:

~
G(2) ~
 B(2)

This can be converted to the following LP problem:

X X n h io
Min S~(M

k ;Ml2 ) (2) ¼ Max 0; S~Mk2 (2)  S~Ml2 (2) (30)
2
(k2 ;l2 )2D2 (h) (k2 ;l2 )2D2 (h)

St:
X h i
S~(M
þ
k ;Ml2 ) (2)  S~(M

k ;Ml2 ) (2) ¼ ~1
2 2
(k2 ;l2 )2D2 (h)

Assume:
n h io
Max 0; S~Mk2 (2)  S~Ml2 (2) ¼ ~zk2 l2 (2) ) ~zk2 l2 (2)  0 and ~zk2 l2 (2)  S~Mk2 (2)  S~Ml2 (2) (31)

On the other hand, we have:

S~(M
þ
k ;Ml2 ) (2)  S~(M

k ;Ml2 ) (2) ¼ S~Mk2 (2)  S~Ml2 (2) (32)
2 2

Therefore, Equation (29) can be rewritten as:

X
Min ~zk2 l2 (2) (33)
(k2 ;l2 )2D2 (h)
 10 F. Zandi

St: X h i
S~Mk2 (2)  S~Ml2 (2) ¼ ~1
(k2 ;l2 )2D2 (h)

~zk2 l2 (2)  S~Mk2 (2)  S~Ml2 (2)

~zk2 l2 (2)  0

Consequently, the most adequate outsourcing processes in ERP are obtained using the second level of the following
LINMAP model:
X
Min ~zk2 l2 (2) (The second level of the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model) (34)
(k2 ;l2 )2D2 (h)

St:
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X
th X  
wh (sxj2 )  (d~k2 j2 (h)  d~l2 j2 (h)) ¼ ~1
j2 ¼1 (k2 ;l2 )2D2 (h)

X
th
 
wh (sxj2 )  d~i2 k2 (h)  d~i2 l2 (h) þ ~zk2 l2 (2)  0
j2 ¼1

~zk2 l2 (2)  0 (k2 ; l2 ) 2 D2 (h)

w(sxj2 )  0 j2 ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; th

The optimal solution for the second level of the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model (33) is the most adequate outsourcing
process in ERP.
Therefore, the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model is as follows:

X
Min ~zk1 l1 (1) (The fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model)
(k1 ;l1 )2D
St:

X
t1 X
w(xj1 )  (d~k1 j1  d~l1 j1 ) ¼ ~1
j1 ¼1 (k1 ;l1 )2D

X
t1
w(xj1 )  (d~i1 k1  d~i1 l1 ) þ ~zk1 l1 (1)  0
j1 ¼1

~zk1 l1 (1)  0; (k1 ; l1 ) 2 D1

w(xj1 )  0; j1 ¼ 1; 2; . . . t1
X
Min ~zk2 l2 (2)
(k2 ;l2 )2D2 (h)
 International Journal of Production Research 11

X
th X  
St : wh (sxj2 )  (d~k2 j2 (h)  d~l2 j2 (h)) ¼ ~1
j2 ¼1 (k2 ;l2 )2D2 (h)

X
th
 
wh (sxj2 )  d~i2 k2 (h)  d~i2 l2 (h) þ ~zk2 l2 (2)  0
j2 ¼1

~zk2 l2 (2)  0 (k2 ; l2 ) 2 D2 (h)

w(sxj2 )  0 j2 ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; th

3. Case study
The American company has grown to one of the largest dental equipment manufacturers. The company designs,
builds and markets dental chairs, stools, delivery systems, lights, cabinetry, hand pieces and a full line of accesso-
ries. The company’s mission is to create equipment innovations that help doctors perform healthier, more efficient
dentistry.
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Known in the dental industry as a leader in producing quality, innovative equipment, the manufacturer needed to
keep pace with growth strategies while preserving its hard-earned reputation. The company deployed an ERP system to
streamline operations and help achieve business objectives.
As weak ERP modules and processes were limiting its ability to achieve more of its goal, an option was to identify
the most adequate outsource processes in ERP to have an agile company. Therefore, the company’s management team
decided to use the proposed bi-level constraint-oriented outsourcing framework for the identification of the most ade-
quate outsourcing process in ERP as follows:

LEVEL 1: In the first step, the top manager established the following outsourcing team to identify ERP modules as follows:
T (outsourcing) ¼ ½o1 ; o2 ; o3 ; o4 ; o5 

Next, the top manager determined the following voting power weight to each of the members of the outsourcing
team:

W (outsourcing) ¼ ½0:17; 0:23; 0:20; 0:25; 0:15

In step 1-1-2, the outsourcing team identified the following ERP modules (Figure 2).
The set of ordered pairs was: D1 ¼ f(1; 5); (2; 3); (2; 5); (4; 3); (4; 5)g.
In step 1-2-1, the outsourcing team determined the following seven constraints management criteria relevant to iden-
tify weak ERP modules as core constraints: core competencies, business impact, operational excellence, security and
compliance, cost saving, time saving and meeting technical requirements.
In step 1-2-2, after constructing the fuzzy individual ordinal rank matrices, the fuzzy weighted collective ordered
matrix was constructed as follows (see Table 2):
Furthermore, among the various types of fuzzy numbers, triangular and trapezoidal fuzzy numbers are most
important. We chose trapezoidal fuzzy numbers for the case study because they are used most often for characteris-
ing imprecise, vague and ambiguous information in practical applications. The common use of trapezoidal fuzzy
numbers is mainly attributed to their simplicity in both concept and computation. A fuzzy set A is called trapezoi-
dal fuzzy number with tolerance interval ½a; b, left width α and right width β if its membership function with the
notation A = (a, b, α, β) has the following form (presented in Figure 3 is shown):
8 at
>
> 1 if a  a  t  a
>
> a
<
1 if a  t  b
> tb
>
> 1 if a  t  b þ b
>
: b
0 otherwise
 12 F. Zandi

ERP

Finance and Customer Human Resource Supply-Chain Technical

Performance Relationship Management Management Architecture
Management Management

Accounts Payable Customer Employee Inventory Systems

Relationship Scheduling Administration
Management

Accounts Help Desk Human Resources Manufacturing Business

Receivable Intelligence (BI)

Bank Call Center Payroll Order Workflow

Reconciliation Entry/Invoicing
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Cash Management Contacts Preventative

Maintenance

Currency Sales Analysis Pricing

Fixed Assetsare Sales Purchasing

Compensation

General Ledger Quotation

/Estimation

Bond Manager Receiving

Job Costing Shipping

Time Billing Service

Management

Investment
Manager

Share Manager

Figure 2. ERP modules and processes.

 International Journal of Production Research 13

8 8 .5 9 .5 1 0

Figure 3. The fuzzy weighted collective ordinal rank of the supply-chain management module.

For example, the mathematical calculations of the fuzzy weighted collective ordinal rank of the supply chain manage-
ment module with respect to the operational excellence criterion are presented in the Appendix 2.
This fuzzy number was a trapezoidal fuzzy number with tolerance interval [8.5, 9.5], left width 0.5 and right width
0.5, and its membership function presented in Figure 3.
In step 1-2-4, the most adequate outsourcing module in ERP was obtained using the first level of the fuzzy bi-level
LINMAP model as follows:
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Min Z ¼ z15 (1) þ z23 (1) þ z25 (1) þ z43 (1) þ z45 (1) (The first level of the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model)

St:
w(x1 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x2 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x3 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x5 )(  7:0; 5:0; 1:0; 1:0)þ
w(x6 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x7 )(  9:0; 7:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ z15 (1)  0
w(x1 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x2 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x3 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x5 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0)þ
w(x6 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x7 )(  5:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ z23 (1)  0
w(x1 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x2 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x3 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0)þ
w(x4 )(  7:0; 5:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x5 )(  5:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x7 )(  9:0; 7:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ z25 (1)  0
w(x1 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x2 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x3 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0)þ
w(x6 )(3:0; 5:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x7 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ z43 (1)  0
w(x1 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x2 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x3 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0)þ
w(x4 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x5 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x6 )(  2:0; 6:0; 4:0; 4:0)þ
w(x7 )(  7:0; 5:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ z45 (1)  0w(x1 )(10:0; 14:0; 2:0; 2:0) þ w(x2 )(10:0; 14:0; 2:0; 2:0)þ
w(x3 )(10:0; 14:0; 2:0; 2:0) þ w(x4 )(  10:0; 6:0; 2:0; 2:0) þ w(x5 )(  13:0; 7:0; 3:0; 3:0) þ w(x6 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0)þ
w(x7 )(  33:0; 23:0; 5:0; 5:0) ¼ 1w(x1 ); w(x2 ); w(x3 ); w(x4 ); w(x5 ); w(x6 ); w(x7 )  0z15 (1); z23 (1); z25 (1); z43 (1); z45 (1)  0

Based on the optimal solution of the above fuzzy group LINMAP model, the technical architecture module is the most
adequate outsourcing module in ERP.

Table 3. The fuzzy weighted collective ordered sub-matrices for technical architecture module.

Technical
architecture Business Ease of Security and
module Budget implications impact operation compliance Cost saving Time saving Better control

Systems (8.5,9.5,0.5,0.5) (6.5,7.5,0.5,0.5) (4.5,5.5,0.5,0.5) (8.5,9.5,0.5,0.5) (6.5,7.5,0.5,0.5) (2.5,3.5,0.5,0.5) (4.5,5.5,0.5,0.5)

administration
Business (8.5,9.5,0.5,0.5) (6.5,7.5,0.5,0.5) (4.5,5.5,0.5,0.5) (6.5,7.5,0.5,0.5) (8.5,9.5,0.5,0.5) (6.5,7.5,0.5,0.5) (6.5,7.5,0.5,0.5)
intelligence
(BI)
Workflow (2.35,3.25,0.45,0.45) (8.5,9.5,0.5,0.5) (8.5,9.5,0.5,0.5) (2.5,3.5,0.5,0.5) (2.5,3.5,0.5,0.5) (4.5,5.5,0.5,0.5) (6.5,7.5,0.5,0.5)
 14 F. Zandi

2 2 .5 3 .5 4

Figure 4. The fuzzy weighted collective ordinal rank of the workflow process of the technical architecture module.

LEVEL 2: In phase 2-1, the outsourcing team establishes the following technical architecture outsourcing sub-teams to
identify the most adequate outsourcing processes of the technical architecture module:

ST (outsourcing) ¼ ½s(o1 ); s(o2 ); s(o3 )

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Next, outsourcing team determined a voting power weight for each technical architecture sub-team member as follows:
W h (outsourcing) ¼ ½0:30; 0:25; 0:35
In Step 2-1-2, each sub-team identified the following ERP processes of the technical architecture module:
The set of ordered pairs was: D2 (h) ¼ f(1; 2); (1; 3)g
In step 2-2-1, the outsourcing technical architecture sub-team determines the following seven constraints manage-
ment sub-criteria: budget implications, business impact, ease of operation, security and compliance, cost saving, time
saving and better control.
In step 2-2-2, the fuzzy individual ordinal rank sub-matrix evaluated by the outsourcing technical architecture sub-
team member was constructed. Then, the fuzzy weighted collective ordered sub-matrix of the technical architecture
module was constructed as follows:
For example, the mathematical calculations of the fuzzy weighted collective ordinal rank of the workflow process of
the technical architecture module with respect to the budget implications sub-criterion are presented in the Appendix 2.
This fuzzy number was a trapezoidal fuzzy number with tolerance interval ½2:5; 3:5, left width 0.5 and right width
0.5, and its membership function presented in Figure 4.
In step 2–2-4, the most adequate outsourcing process in ERP was obtained using the second level of the fuzzy bi-
level LINMAP model as follows:

Min Z ¼ z12 (2) þ z13 (2) (The second level of the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model)
St:
w5 (sx4 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w5 (sx5 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w5 (sx6 )(  5:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0)þ
w5 (sx7 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ z12 (2) P 0
w5 (sx1 )(5:0; 7:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w5 (sx2 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w5 (sx3 )(  5:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w5 (sx4 )(5:0; 7:0; 1:0; 1:0)þ
w5 (sx5 )(3:0; 5:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w5 (sx6 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w5 (sx7 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ z13 (2) P 0
w5 (sx1 )(5:0; 7:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w5 (sx2 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w5 (sx3 )(  5:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0)þ
w5 (sx4 )(6:0; 10:0; 2:0; 2:0) þ w5 (sx5 )(0:0; 4:0; 2:0; 2:0) þ w5 (sx6 )(  8:0; 4:0; 2:0; 2:0)þ
w5 (sx7 )(  6:0; 2:0; 2:0; 2:0) ¼ 1
w5 (sx1 ); w5 (sx2 ); w5 (sx3 ); w5 (sx4 ); w5 (sx5 ); w5 (sx6 ); w5 (sx7 ) P 0 z12 (2); z13 (2) P 0

Therefore, the fuzzy group bi-level LINMAP model was as follows:

Min Z ¼ z15 (1) þ z23 (1) þ z25 (1) þ z43 (1) þ z45 (1)

(The fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model)

 International Journal of Production Research 15

St:

w(x1 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x2 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x3 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x5 )(  7:0; 5:0; 1:0; 1:0)þ
w(x6 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x7 )(  9:0; 7:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ z15 (1) P 0
w(x1 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x2 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x3 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x5 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0)þ
w(x6 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x7 )(  5:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ z23 (1) P 0
w(x1 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x2 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x3 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x4 )(  7:0; 5:0; 1:0; 1:0)þ
w(x5 )(  5:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x7 )(  9:0; 7:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ z25 (1) P 0
w(x1 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x2 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x3 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x6 )(3:0; 5:0; 1:0; 1:0)þ
w(x7 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ z43 (1) P 0
w(x1 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x2 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x3 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x4 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0)þ
w(x5 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x6 )(  2:0; 6:0; 4:0; 4:0) þ w(x7 )(  7:0; 5:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ z45 (1) P 0
w(x1 )(10:0; 14:0; 2:0; 2:0) þ w(x2 )(10:0; 14:0; 2:0; 2:0) þ w(x3 )(10:0; 14:0; 2:0; 2:0)þ
w(x4 )(  10:0; 6:0; 2:0; 2:0) þ w(x5 )(  13:0; 7:0; 3:0; 3:0)þ
w(x6 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w(x7 )(  33:0; 23:0; 5:0; 5:0) ¼ 1
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w(x1 ); w(x2 ); w(x3 ); w(x4 ); w(x5 ); w(x6 ); w(x7 ) P 0

z15 (1); z23 (1); z25 (1); z43 (1); z45 (1) P 0

Min Z ¼ z12 (2) þ z13 (2)

St:

w5 (sx4 )(1:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w5 (sx5 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w5 (sx6 )(  5:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0)þ
w5 (sx7 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ z12 (2) P 0
w5 (sx1 )(5:0; 7:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w5 (sx2 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w5 (sx3 )(  5:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w5 (sx4 )(5:0; 7:0; 1:0; 1:0)þ
w5 (sx5 )(3:0; 5:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w5 (sx6 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w5 (sx7 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ z13 (2) P 0
w5 (sx1 )(5:0; 7:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w5 (sx2 )(  3:0; 1:0; 1:0; 1:0) þ w5 (sx3 )(  5:0; 3:0; 1:0; 1:0)þ
w5 (sx4 )(6:0; 10:0; 2:0; 2:0) þ w5 (sx5 )(0:0; 4:0; 2:0; 2:0) þ w5 (sx6 )(  8:0; 4:0; 2:0; 2:0) þ w5 (sx7 )(  6:0; 2:0; 2:0; 2:0) ¼ 1
w5 (sx1 ); w5 (sx2 ); w5 (sx3 ); w5 (sx4 ); w5 (sx5 ); w5 (sx6 ); w5 (sx7 ) P 0
z12 (2); z13 (2) P 0

Based on the optimal solution of the above fuzzy group LINMAP model, the business intelligence (BI) is the most
adequate outsourcing process in ERP.

4. Dimensional comparison single-level and bi-level LINMAP model

Let us assume that ERP system is made
 up of n ERP modules. Therefore, the maximum number of outsourcing team’s
n
preference judgements will be 2 : Furthermore, let us assume that each module consists of m ERP pro-
¼ n(n1)
2
 
m
cesses. Therefore, the maximum number of outsourcing team’s preference judgements will be ¼ m(m1)
2 . Consider-
2
ing that the number of strategic constraints management criteria and sub-criteria are t; q; respectively, we have:

4.1 Maximum size of the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model based on the number of variables
The maximum size of the first level of the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model will be n(n1)
2 þ t variables. Similarly, the
maximum size of the second level of the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model will be m(m1)
2 þ q variables. Therefore, the
 16 F. Zandi

Figure 5. The comparison of the number of variables in the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model with the single-level LINMAP model.
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Figure 6. The comparison of the number of model constraints in the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model with the single-level LINMAP
model.

maximum size of the bi-level LINMAP model will be n(n1) 2 þ m(m1)

2 þ t þ q variables, while we have
nm(nm1)
2 þ t  q variables in the single-level LINMAP model.
For example, ERP system in the case study was comprised of five ERP modules and 34 ERP processes, and the
number of strategic constraints management criteria and sub-criteria were t ¼ 7; q ¼ 7. Therefore, the first level of the
fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model consisted of 18 variables. Similarly, the size of the second level of the fuzzy bi-level
LINMAP model was 11 variables, while we had 610 variables in the single-level LINMAP model. To compare the
bi-level LINMAP model with the single-level LINMAP model, the results of comparative analysis with assuming
t ¼ q ¼ 20 are shown in Figure 5.

4.2 Maximum size of the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model based on the number of model constraints
The maximum size of the first level of the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model will be n(n1) 2 þ 1 constraints. Similarly, the
maximum size of the second level of the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model will be m(m1) 2 þ 1 constraints. Therefore, the
maximum size of the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model will be n(n1)
2 þ 2 þ 2 constraints, while we have
m(m1)

nm(nm1)
2 þ 1 constraints in the single-level LINMAP model.
For example, the first level of the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model in the case study consisted of 11 constraints.
Similarly, the size of the second level of the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model was four constraints, while we had 562
constraints in the single-level LINMAP model. To compare the fuzzy bi-level LINMAP model with the single-level
LINMAP model, the results of comparative analysis are shown in Figure 6.

5. Conclusions and future research directions

In this paper, we have presented a novel bi-level constraint-oriented outsourcing framework for the identification of the
most adequate outsourcing modules and processes in ERP. The contribution of the proposed bi-level constraint-oriented
 International Journal of Production Research 17

outsourcing framework for orchestration of ERP was twofold: (1) it has developed the traditional constraints manage-
ment to fuzzy multi-criteria constraints management for orchestration of ERP modules and processes; and (2) it has
developed LINMAP model to a fuzzy group bi-level LINMAP model for identifying the most adequate outsourcing ele-
ments at two levels of ERP modules and processes. We have presented a case study to demonstrate how a dental equip-
ment manufacturing company benefited from the proposed bi-level constraint-oriented outsourcing framework to
outsource an ERP process and achieve ERP orchestration.
An ERP-outsourced process is an ERP process which is performed by an external party. Additionally, the enter-
prise shall ensure that the ERP-outsourced process meets the specified requirements for ERP orchestration. Ensuring
the identification of the ERP-outsourced processes does not absolve the enterprise of the responsibility of the selec-
tion of suppliers based on their ability to supply product in accordance with ERP orchestration. The enterprise shall
apply suitable methods for monitoring the potential impact of the ERP-outsourced process on ERP orchestration.
The type and extent of control applied to suppliers shall be dependent upon the effect of outputs of the ERP-out-
sourced process on ERP orchestration. Therefore, the results of the proposed bi-level constraint-oriented outsourcing
framework can be used as future researches to evaluate suppliers based on their ability to provide product that con-
formed to ERP orchestration requirements.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and SCM (Supply Chain Management) are two categories of systems
that are widely implemented in organisations. While the primary goal of ERP is to improve internal ERP processes,
CRM attempts to enhance the relationship with customers and SCM aims to facilitate the collaboration between the
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organisation, its suppliers, the manufacturers, the distributors and the partners.
As future research, the boundary of the proposed bi-level constraint-oriented outsourcing framework can be extended
to the ERP, CRM and SCM systems to identify processes that effects on the external orchestration of customers, suppli-
ers, manufacturers, distributors and partners in an organisation.

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions.

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Appendix 1: Mathematical notations and definitions

Mh The hth ERP module
P h ð j2 Þ The jth th
2 ERP process of the h ERP module
n The number of ERP modules
xj1 The jth
1 strategic constraints management criterion for outsourcing ERP modules
sxj2 (h) The jth th
2 constraints management sub-criterion for identification of the most adequate outsourcing process of the h ERP
module
t1 The number of strategic constraints management criteria
th The number of constraints management sub-criteria
m The number of the outsourcing team members
mh The number of the outsourcing sub-team members
w(xj1 ) The importance weight of the jth1 strategic constraints management criterion evaluated by the outsourcing team
wh (sxj2 ) The importance weight of the jth2 constraints management sub-criterion for outsourcing the hth module evaluated by the
outsourcing sub-team
or The rth member of the outsourcing team
s(or ) The rth member of the outsourcing sub-team
w(or ) The voting power of the rth outsourcing team member
wh ½s(or ) The voting power of the rth member of the hth outsourcing sub-team
~r
A The fuzzy individual ordinal rank matrix of the ERP modules evaluated by the rth outsourcing team member
~
A The fuzzy weighted collective ordered matrix of the ERP modules evaluated by the outsourcing team
 International Journal of Production Research 19

A~ r (h) The fuzzy individual ordinal rank sub-matrix of the hth module evaluated by the rth outsourcing team member
~
A(h) The fuzzy weighted collective ordered sub-matrix of the hth ERP module evaluated by the outsourcing team
d~ij The fuzzy weighted collective ordinal rank of the ith ERP module with respect to the jth strategic constraints manage-
ment criterion evaluated by the outsourcing team
d~ijr The fuzzy individual ordinal rank of the ith ERP module with respect to the jth strategic constraints management crite-
rion evaluated by the rth outsourcing team member
d~ij (h) The fuzzy weighted collective ordinal rank of the ith ERP process of the hth ERP module with respect to the jth con-
straints management sub-criterion evaluated by the outsourcing sub-team
d~ijr (h) The fuzzy individual ordinal rank of the ith ERP process of the hth ERP module with respect to the jth constraints man-
agement sub-criterion evaluated by the rth outsourcing sub-team member

Appendix 2: The mathematical calculations of the fuzzy weighted collective ordinal ranks in the case study

(a) The mathematical calculations of the fuzzy weighted collective ordinal rank of the supply-chain management module with respect
to the operational excellence criterion:
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The fuzzy individual ordinal ranks of the supply-chain management module with respect to the operational excellence criterion evalu-
ated by five outsourcing team members were as follows:

d~43
1
¼ (8:5; 9:5; 0:5; 0:5); d~43
2
¼ (8:5; 9:5; 0:5; 0:5); d~43
3
¼ (8:5; 9:5; 0:5; 0:5); d~43
4
¼ (9:5; 10:5; 0:5; 0:5); d~43
5
¼ (7:5; 8:5; 0:5; 0:5)

With regard to the voting power weights of five outsourcing team members: W (outsourcing) ¼ ½0:17; 0:23; 0:02; 0:25; 0:15, the fuzzy
weighted collective ordinal rank of the supply-chain management module with respect to the operational excellence criterion was as
follows:

d~43 ¼ w(o1 )  d~43

1
þ w(o2 )  d~43
2
þ w(o3 )  d~43
3
þ w(o4 )  d~43
4
þ w(o5 )  d~43
5
)
~
d43 ¼ 0:17  (8:5; 9:5; 0:5; 0:5) þ 0:23  (8:5; 9:5; 0:5; 0:5) þ 0:20  (8:5; 9:5; 0:5; 0:5) þ 0:25
 (9:5; 10:5; 0:5; 0:5) þ 0:15  (7:5; 8:5; 0:5; 0:5) ) d~43 ¼ (8:6; 9:6; 0:5; 0:5)

(b) The mathematical calculations of the fuzzy weighted collective ordinal rank of the workflow process of the technical architecture
module with respect to the budget implications sub-criterion:
The fuzzy individual ordinal ranks of the workflow process of the technical architecture module with respect to the budget implica-
tions sub-criterion evaluated by three outsourcing sub-team members were as follows:

d~31
1
(5) ¼ (2:5; 3:5; 0:5; 0:5); d~31
2
(5) ¼ (1:5; 2:5; 0:5; 0:5); d~31
3
(5) ¼ (3:5; 4:5; 0:5; 0:5)

With regard to the voting power weights for three technical architecture sub-team members: W h outsourcing ¼ ½0:30; 0:25; 0:35, the
trapezoidal fuzzy number:

d~43 ¼ w(o1 )  d~43

1
þ w(o2 )  d~43
2
þ w(o3 )  d~43
3
þ w(o4 )  d~43
4
þ w(o5 )  d~43
5
)
~
d43 (5) ¼ 0:30  (2:5; 3:5; 0:5; 0:5) þ 0:25  (1:5; 2:5; 0:5; 0:5) þ 0:35  (3:5; 4:5; 0:5; 0:5) )
d~31 (5) ¼ (2:35; 3:25; 0:45; 0:45)

represented the fuzzy weighted collective ordinal rank of the workflow process of the technical architecture module with respect to
the budget implications sub-criterion.