Should We Invest in a Decision Support System?
Advantages
of a Decision Support System
DSS can create positive benefits for both the individual decision makers and the companies who will use the system.
1. Time Savings: Research has demonstrated that all categories of decision support systems reduce decision cycle time, increase employee productivity, and provide more timely information for decision making. DSS can also create a cost advantage by increasing efficiency or eliminating activities.
2. Improved Interpersonal Communication: Improved communication and collaboration between decision makers can be a result of DSS. Model-driven DSS allows users to share facts and assumptions. Data-driven DSS allows fact-based decision making by creating one version of the truth about company operations available to managers.
3. Increased Decision Maker Satisfaction: DSS can help reduce frustrations of decision makers by providing the perception that better information is being used.
4. Increased Organizational Control: Data-driven DSS often makes business transaction data available for performance monitoring. Such a system can provide users with an enhanced understanding of business operations, although the financial benefit from increasingly detailed data is not always immediately clear.
5. Targeted Marketing: DSS can be used to target a specific customer segment and gain an advantage in meeting needs in that particular segment. DSS can help track customers and make it easier to serve a specialized customer group.