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...In many instances there may be a need to install a Decision Support System (DSS) to take full advantage of the possible improvements from the Internet. A Decision Support System is a software application that provides decision support (i.e., suggested actions) for a given management function. A DSS may be supported by optimization software designed for a particular task.

For example, for ease of management, many global businesses are organized by regions; common regions are North America, Europe, Asia/Far East, and Rest of World. Generally in the past there was little or no operational interaction among the different regions. Now, with Internet communication capabilities, companies with global operations can look for opportunities across different regions to create synergies. For example, a plant in one region may be short of a particular component, while a plant in another region of the world may have a surplus of the same component. In the past it was viewed as too inefficient to try to track down these kinds of opportunities, but with information flowing rapidly and automatically through a global network, such synergies become easier to find and exploit. However, the problem of exploiting them "optimally" is an optimization problem of large proportions, and hence some kind of Decision Support System (DSS) is needed to accomplish this.

In the figure above, assume the Pennsylvania factory has run out of raw materials...