ERP consultant selection problem using AHP, fuzzy AHP and ANP: A case study in Turkey

In the information technology industry, projects are often carried out simultaneously and with limited human resources, being of major relevance to adequately allocate consultants (using either the company’s own consultants or outsourcing) to each project. At the company analyzed, consultants’ allocation to concurrent projects, especially when outsourcing is done, is complex. To solve the decision problem, the Project Resource Planning method (PRP), Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), fuzzy AHP and Analytic Network Process (ANP)-based methodologies were used. The experiments suggested that both AHP and fuzzy AHP led to the same results, but neither of these considered the interactions within decision elements during the selection process, while ANP, which takes into account these interactions, most correctly weighs the sub-criteria and gives the best composite weights.