en Supply Chain Management and Logistics Supply Chain Management and Logistics پژوهشی Original <span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><i><span lang="EN" style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="letter-spacing:-.25pt">Efficiency plays a pivotal role in impacting costs and optimizing resource utilization for<br> businesses. This study aims to evaluate the technical and scale efficiency of 15 suppliers within<br> a production unit over a three-year period (2020-2022) using data envelopment analysis<br> (DEA). The analysis will involve assessing efficiency under two assumptions - constant returns<br> to scale and variable returns to scale. Variables were selected based on indicator availability,<br> representation principles, and expert input, with inputs including investment, nonoperating<br> expense costs, and operational expenses (comprising raw material costs, wages, and<br> overheads), while outputs encompass net sales and return on investment. Results from the study<br> indicated that supplier one, scoring 0.5716 assuming constant returns to scale and 0.6790<br> under variable returns to scale, emerged as the least efficient supplier. Interestingly, only two<br> suppliers (8 and 15) demonstrated higher efficiency levels. However, the net technical efficiency<br> of the supply chain showed an increasing concentration, which indicates the overall reduction<br> of the gap between suppliers and the improvement of the net technical efficiency in the supply<br> chain of the production unit. This study provides valuable insights into the differences between<br> suppliers from a macro perspective and offers guidance for manufacturing units looking to<br> expand their supply chain.</span></span></i></span></span></span></span>&nbsp; Data Envelopment Analysis, Supply Chain, return to scale, efficiency. 28 40 http://iors.ir/journal/browse.php?a_code=A-10-5331-3&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Hoda Moradi h.moradi@iauyazd.ac.ir 00031947532846002860 00031947532846002860 Yes Department of Management, Yazd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Yazd, Iran, Email: Mehdi Abbaszadeh m.abbaszadeh98@gmail.com 00031947532846002861 00031947532846002861 No Department of Management, Yazd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Yazd, Iran, Email: