This paper presents the problem of the assessment of the supply chains in the context of their effectiveness. In this paper the concepts of a supply chain and effectiveness were characterized. The supply chain is a structure of entities which are connected with each other by the use of material and financial flows and functional, structural, technological, economic and information dependencies. Entities such as: suppliers, final recipients, entrepreneurs, warehouse facilities, supply centers, logistics operators, carriers, etc. perform material flows from suppliers to recipients. The concept of efficiency, in general terms, refers to economic rationality and means the relationship between the achieved or expected effects and the expenditures incurred. Additionally, indicators of measuring the effectiveness of the supply chain were described. In order to assess the effectiveness of the supply chain the decision model was developed. Optimization is crucial in decision support systems. The development of an appropriate model for mapping the behavior of a real object or system and formulating an optimization task is a necessary activity in effective management. This is even more important if we want to be competitive. Along with the development of decision support systems, as well as the development of systems for data acquisition on the system functioning, which feed optimization models in ever more detailed form, complex decision models are created that take into account many optimization criteria and require a large amount of data. It allows, however, to ensure the sustainable development of the system and simultaneous implementation of its basic tasks. The main aim of this paper is to present the stages and assumptions of the model for assessing the effectiveness of the supply chain. The main data input, constraints of the model, the criteria functions were determined.