Week 5 Project

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Examples of DSS Applications—Part 2

Supply Chain Management (SCM): SCM systems use data about costs, inventory, logistics, production schedules, and supplier performance. This helps managers search combinations of alternatives that are cost effective and ef�cient for moving goods through the supply chain. Sonoco Products Co., a global manufacturer of consumer and industrial packaging, maintains hundreds of manufacturing operations around the globe and has a complex supply chain. Sonoco started using Optiant Inc.’s PowerChain 4.0 design and analysis software to explore alternative scenarios with various costs, lead times, and raw material inventory. They then set optimal inventory targets. The DSS software helped Sonoco store the right amount of inventory at the right location at the right time. Therefore the new DSS system made it possible for Sonoco to �ll orders on time with inventory on hand 95% of the time. 

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and data visualization: GIS is a software that can analyze and display data using digitized maps. Therefore GIS enhances decision making and planning. Data visualization is a technology used to help users see relationships and patterns in large amounts of data by presenting data graphically. GIS can support decisions that require knowledge of the geographic distribution of people or other resources in development, planning, resource management, and scienti�c research. General Electric Network Solutions collaborated with LinksPoint, which is a technology company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, to develop GIS software that several municipal governments use to help prevent West Nile virus outbreaks. The software analyzes information on the location and number of dead birds that host the West Nile virus to predict the magnitude and location of future epidemics. After implementing this GIS system, Chicago and New York City were able to predict outbreaks with 80% accuracy two weeks before they occurred.

After understanding the importance of several DSS applications, let us now explore another DSS application, group decision support systems (GDSS). Organizations use this application for group decision making.