The value chain component in a decision support system: a case example

This paper discusses the contribution and use of the value chain component within a prototype decision support system (DSS). Here, the authors focus on the inclusion of Porter's value chain within the general design of the DSS for a purchasing manager in the Norwegian wood processing industry. They discuss the value chain and cost driver parameters as well as those design principles that they found significant for the creation, inclusion, visualization, and use of the value system. They summarize related research that they conducted concerning the analysis and diagnosis of decision processes for this particular decision maker and his organization and the formulation of a prescriptive model. They then discuss some of the general design and implementation features of their prototype DSS. The goal of this DSS is to present a tool for the decision maker that addresses qualitative decision making and improve the user's mental model and modeling capacity.