An Integrated Approach to the Purchase Problem of Businesses with DEMATEL and AHP Methods: A DSLR Camera Example

Abstract

Purchasing decisions are of great importance for businesses. While the decision makers are making their decisions, they take into account their priorities next to the experts’ opinions. Therefore, there is a need to develop a method that considers both the experts’ opinions and the business’s requirements. In this study, the weight and interrelation of factors are determined by the DEMATEL (The Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory) method. Then, priority for the business of these factors is evaluated by the AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) method. An integrated selection method based on (i) the experts’ opinions, (ii) business priorities and (iii) specifications of the equipment to be purchased all together is obtained by a generated algorithm. The method that we proposed is implemented to a photography business for buying a new DSLR camera.