Remarks About the Use of Symbol Indicators for Logistics and Manufacturing Process Evaluation Fiorenzo Franceschini 1 , Maurizio Galetto 2 DISPEA - Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, I-10129 Turin, Italy 1 fiorenzo.franceschini@polito.it , 2 maurizio.galetto@polito.it Abstract One of the most critical aspects in operations management is making firm goals representable. This is usually done by translating the organization results and objectives in “performance indicators”. The scientific literature shows many applications in different fields such as quality, production, logistics, marketing, etc.... The aim of the present paper is to explore the world of symbol indicators, starting from the basic concepts expressed by the representational approach. A mathematical structure to the concept of indicator is presented, grounded on the Representational Theory of Measurement. Focusing the discussion on typical aspects concerning logistics and manufacturing fields, we explore the general properties of symbol indicators, their characteristics, and the conditions for their usability. Keywords Performance indicators, metrics, performance measurements, process representation. 1 Introduction In operations management, a typical approach for making firm goals representable is translating the organization results and objectives in “performance measures”. The scientific literature shows many applications in different fields such as production, logistics, marketing, etc... [Caplice, Sheffi, 1995; Brown, 1996; Evans, 2004]. Some authors assert that every metric, whether it is used explicitly to influence behavior, to evaluate future strategies, or simply to take stocks, will affect actions and decisions [Hauser, Katz, 1998; Evans, 2004]. In the current scientific literature terms such as “metric”, “performance measure” and “performance indicator” are usually used as synonyms. The concept of performance measure/indicator is not new also in Quality Management [Juran, 1988]. Recent years are characterized by a widespread interest in this area. This phenomenon is mostly related to the new edition of ISO 9000 standards, which emphasize the concepts of “Quality Measurement” and “Customer Satisfaction Measurement” [ISO 9004:2000]. The current pressing interest around performance measurement is well highlighted by an article of Melnyk, Stewart and Swink [Melnyk, Stewart, Swink, 2004]. With the aim of giving some initial theoretical grounding for metrics research topic, these authors try to provide a general definition of metric based on the concept of “overall performance measurement system”. The goal is extracting an overall sense of performance (this allow comparison, making decisions, planning strategies, predicting future developments, etc...). One of the most cited approaches for developing such an integrative system is the “balance scorecard” [Kaplan, Norton, 1992, 1996, 2001]. Another important aspect is the trade-off between metrics set richness and complexity [Melnyk, Stewart, Swink, 2004]. The aim of the present paper is to explore the world of symbol indicators, starting from the basic concepts expressed in the representational approach [Franceschini, Galetto, Maisano, 2007]. When dealing, for example, with performance assessment of a given manufacturing or logistic