Title: A web-based product portfolio decision support system

Authors: Yiyang Zhang, Jianxin (Roger) Jiao

Addresses: School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore. ' School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore

Abstract: To deal with the variety dilemma, the critical decision faced by companies across industries is the selection of an optimal mix of product alternatives to offer in the marketplace, namely product portfolio decision making. The volatile market situation, the myriad of information and tedious negotiation result in outdated information thus leading to inaccurate portfolio decisions. Information technology allows organisations to gain the real time transaction data with a fraction of costs compared with the conventional methods. This paper develops a web-based product portfolio decision support system to enable more accurate and rapid product portfolio decision making. The decision-making models and the web-based architecture are discussed in detail. An application to the mobile phone product portfolio decision making is also reported to illustrate the feasibility of the proposed web-based system.

Keywords: product variety; web based product portfolio; decision making; decision support systems; mass customisation; e-commerce; electronic commerce; internet; product alternatives; product mix; information technology; mobile phones.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMTM.2007.013321

International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management, 2007 Vol.11 No.3/4, pp.296 - 314

Published online: 20 Apr 2007 *

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