5 Essential Steps to Build a Winning Business Case for Mathematical Optimization

Many operations researchers and data scientists are already familiar with mathematical optimization and its ability to transform businesses by enabling smarter, faster, and more cost-effective decisions.   

However, for many business leaders, optimization remains a foreign concept shrouded in mystery. These decision-makers need concrete evidence to justify an investment in new technology. In order to buy into the benefits of optimization, they first need to understand it. 

So how do you build a compelling business case for optimization? Here, we’ll outline practical steps to help you effectively communicate optimization’s value and secure stakeholder support. 

Roadblocks to Getting Buy-In

Despite its potential to transform businesses, optimization isn’t always an easy sell. This is often due to: 

• Unawareness: Unlike machine learning, its close relative in the data science toolkit, mathematical optimization has yet to become a household name (despite being around much longer). Thus, there are some misconceptions about what it is and what it can do, and many business leaders are still unfamiliar with the concept. 

• Executive skepticism: Decision-makers are inclined to focus on initiatives that are aligned with their business strategy. To sell them on a new technology (especially one they aren’t familiar with), you’ll have to make an extra effort to demonstrate alignment with those initiatives.  

• Competing priorities: Organizations have finite budgets, which means optimization must compete with other business-critical investments.  

To overcome these barriers, you must build a business case that highlights the value of an optimization solution using terms that resonate with your organization’s leaders. 

 A 5-Step Framework for Building a Business Case

In a webinar led by Princeton Consultants and Gurobi, Steve Sashihara, CEO of Princeton Consultants and author of The Optimization Edge, outlined a five-step process to identifying high-value opportunities and building a business case for optimization:

1. Analyze the Current Flow of Information

Start by analyzing the current flow of information within your organization. You can do this by mapping out key decision areas and evaluating how they impact business outcomes. 

Identify any uncertainties (for example, market demand or competitor actions), and determine where those variables intersect with decisions. 

As Sashihara pointed out in the webinar, the uncertainties often represent great machine learning and data science opportunities, while the decision areas can present great optimization opportunities (especially if there is a high degree of complexity involved).

2. Identify Key Areas for Improvement

Next, turn your focus to those opportunities with the highest potential impact, prioritizing decision areas that are closely tied to business strategy.  

Identify processes that could benefit from better decision intelligence, with the potential to unlock significant value—such as revenue optimization, cost reduction, or time savings.  

You can also emphasize the value of explainability that optimization provides, allowing business leaders to gain more insight into complex decisions. 

3. Understand How Decisions Are Currently Made

Before introducing an optimization model, create a baseline to quantify the gap between the status quo and potential improvements. 

Use historical data to model how decisions are currently made in your organization, as well as their outcomes. Also document any inefficiencies, missed opportunities, and bottlenecks.

4. Build a Proof-of-Concept Model

Develop a proof-of-concept model that encompasses the decision areas you prioritized in Step 2 and incorporates data from your status quo analysis (Step 3). 

Design the model to provide actionable recommendations that are aligned with your business objectives. With this step, you can translate abstract potential into tangible results, showcasing the power of optimization.

5. Quantify the Impacts and Present Your Findings

 Finally, prepare to present your findings in business terms: 

• Quantify the benefits in terms of ROI, cost savings, revenue growth, or any other relevant metrics—but don’t forget to also include qualitative benefits, such as explainability and more robust decision-making processes. 

• Address potential risks and include a range of scenarios to demonstrate robustness. 

• Validate the model with input from impartial experts to build credibility. 

Remember: Executives need to see a clear connection between your optimization project and the organization’s strategic goals. Make sure your presentation emphasizes alignment with the company’s priorities. 

Resources for Building Your Business Case 

Here are a few tools and resources to help you build a thorough business case that demonstrates how optimization can address your organization’s biggest challenges: 

• Forrester TEI Calculator: Estimate the ROI of optimization for your business. 

• Explainer videos and educational resources: Simplify the decision-making algorithms within optimization for executives. 

• Case studies: Explore real-world success stories across industries. 

• Training programs: Equip your team with the skills to implement optimization effectively, using tailored content that meets your team where they are. 

Addressing Common Objections  

When building your business case, you may encounter questions about open-source alternatives.  

While open-source tools are free and accessible, optimization’s value lies in solving complex problems efficiently and at scale—something open-source solvers can’t always accomplish.  

Compared to open-source options, Gurobi offers: 

• Faster and more robust solutions (in fact, Gurobi can often be up to 10,000x faster than open-source solvers) 

• The power to solve many model types across different scales with a single solver package  

• Continuous innovation and comprehensive support from our team of optimization experts.  

Highlight these advantages to show why investing in a powerful and mature solver like Gurobi is a strategic choice in the long term. 

Next Steps: Conduct a Formal Evaluation

Building the business case for optimization requires more than enthusiasm—it demands clear, data-backed arguments tied to business outcomes.  

By following the steps outlined in this blog post, you can bridge the gap between technical potential and executive buy-in, driving impactful projects that deliver measurable value. 

When you conduct a Gurobi evaluation, we’ll work with you to develop a comprehensive proof of concept for your use cases, identify the right license option for your team, and create a structured plan for your evaluation period, including frequent check-ins with our experts.  

Ready to get started? Request a free evaluation license today.