Value and risk assessment of supply chain management improvement projects

In this paper the decisional process of the introduction of a new information system for advanced planning and scheduling and supply chain management (APS/SCM) is discussed, with particular care given to the value assessment stage. In a research programme recently carried out at Politecnico di Milano a new methodology has been developed and tested on a set of test bed cases. The methodology is based on the consideration that activities whose execution can be supported by APS/SCM solutions may have an impact on the key performances of a supply chain. In particular, in the first phase of the value assessment methodology the identification of the information requirements is carried out, thus allowing an estimate of the punctual value generated by the information system solution. The following phase provides a risk analysis of the estimated value. As information systems' implementations have impacts not only on economic value but also on strategic and intangible issues, this needs a deep review of traditional risk analysis approaches. After introducing the issue of value assessment of APS/SCM information systems, a summary of the value assessment methodology developed at Politecnico di Milano will be given. Finally a case study is provided to give more insights on the practical application of the methodology.