Supply Chain Optimisation Business Case
This is a practical guide to building a business case for a supply chain optimisation project — the justification that weighs the costs, benefits and risks of doing the project, adapted to the realities of improving the efficiency and resilience of the supply chain.
What a Business Case is
A business case is the justification that weighs the costs, benefits and risks of doing the project. For the full concept and how it works in general, see Business Case. On a supply chain optimisation project it plays the same role, tuned to this kind of work.
Why it matters for a Supply Chain Optimisation project
Supply Chain Optimisation projects live or die on improving the efficiency and resilience of the supply chain. A well-built business case gives the team a shared, explicit reference for exactly that — reducing ambiguity, aligning stakeholders, and making problems visible early enough to act. Skipping it, or doing it generically, is how supply chain optimisation projects drift into avoidable delay and cost.
What to include
- Problem or opportunity
- Options considered
- Costs and benefits
- Financial appraisal (ROI/NPV/IRR)
- Recommendation
Supply Chain Optimisation-specific considerations
Tailor the business case to the risks that most often derail supply chain optimisation projects:
- Data visibility
- Supplier coordination
- Change to established processes
Example
On a real supply chain optimisation project, the business case would be shaped by improving the efficiency and resilience of the supply chain. In particular, it should explicitly account for the project’s biggest risks — data visibility, supplier coordination, change to established processes — rather than treating them as afterthoughts.