Marketing-production Interface through an Integrated DSS

This paper reports on a real-world application addressing the coordination between cross functionality of marketing and production. We focus on the critical issues of this interface, namely: capacity planning and long-range to medium-range sales forecasting, production, short-term scheduling and short-range sales forecasting. We present a case study concerning the development of a decision support system for the paper industry. It assists both marketing and production decision makers, leading to a reduction of conflicts. The decision-making process is generalised into a framework that allows the sharing of the same decision models but with different perspectives. This framework may be adapted to other industries.