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A decision support system structure for product mix service life cycle management
Abstract
Competitiveness relates to an organization's effectiveness (the degree to which well-chosen objectives are met) and efficiency (resource expenditure to achieve those objectives) with respect to both its existing product mix and new product introductions. An organization may be deemed competitive over time if the values of reasonably selected process, financial, and market variables are (generally) at least as good as median values of its competitors process, financial, and market variables. A comprehensive decision support system may enhance an organization's competitiveness by encouraging better utilization of internal resources in response to environmental factors. This may enhance satisfaction of market demand, at a lower cost of goods, relative to competitors in the appropriately defined market. The underlying decision support system structure should be based on the premises that competitiveness is related to internal resource application, and that internal resource application may be improved over time by consistent adherence to certain core concepts. Seven core concepts are proposed. An organization which adheres to them will tend to be more competitive than an organization which does not (at least in the long run). The concepts are: (1) Aggregation of diverse inputs from specialized departments within the organization in the product decision making process. (2) Inclusion of comprehensive estimates of costs over product brand service life cycles in a forward-looking risk management system. (3) Use of strategic marketing mix planning. (4) Adherence to core competencies. (5) Dedication to built-in product quality. (6) Utilization of business strategies appropriate to the current stage of each product brand within that product brand's service life cycle. (7) Utilization of discounted cash flow analyses, with properly selected discount rates and planning horizons. The proposed decision support system structure could be implemented for an organization using an expert system. The resulting software system would tend to encourage consistent adherence to the core concepts, and promote better application of internal resources over time.
Subject Area
Industrial engineering|Management
Recommended Citation
Lagerstrom, Thomas Jay, "A decision support system structure for product mix service life cycle management" (1991). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9219377.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9219377