On information quality ranking and its managerial implications

We study the quality ranking of different information structures. In a unified setting, we present eight representations of essentially the same notion that may arise in distinct literatures, and also establish the intricate relationships among them. The forms that are less familiar to researchers turn out to be more relevant to the operations management context. We also relate the information structure ranking to concepts often invoked in operations management literature, such as advance demand information and decision postponement. Using some of the established relations, we argue for building a cross-docking facility as close as possible to the distribution centers it serves.