Overview

planLM Supply Chain Optimizer determines the optimal supply chain activities over time to serve demand within service requirements in accordance with business priorities. It also has the capability to determine optimal supply chain infrastructure along with supply chain activities.

It is all about picking the right time, the right quantity, and the right location; for purchasing, production, transportation, and storage activities.

Optimal redefined

The definition of "optimal" is configurable. planLM Supply Chain Optimizer allows multiple, user defined, objectives to be optimized in a specified priority; for example:

• Priority 1: Maximize orders fulfilled on time
• Priority 2: Minimize outbound lead time for critical parts
• Priority 3: Minimize inventory at regional distribution centers
• Default Objective: Maximize profit

This feature gives the ultimate flexibility of incorporating any business goal into the optimization process.

Comprehensive Cost Modeling

planLM Supply Chain Optimizer considers full range of costs during its optimization of the supply chain activities.

• one-time capital, opening, closing costs and fixed operating costs for supplier, warehouse, and production facilities
• fixed, variable costs and capacity violation penalties on shipping, receiving, storage, supply, and production operations
• capital and fixed operating costs on resource replicas, and variable cost on resource consumption
• inventory holding costs at warehouses, work-in-progress and in-transit inventory holding costs for production and transportation
• lane shipment costs, with minimum charge, and unit transportation and custom surcharge rate on product flow
• production lot and supply order costs
• capital and fixed operating costs on carrier fleet size

In addition to these built-in costs, custom activities can be tracked and respective costs can be incurred on these activities.

Considering Uncertainty & Service Levels

Uncertainty and service level requirements drive inventory and expedited activities, it is a reality of any supply chain.

One of the distinguished features of planLM Supply Chain Optimizer is its ability to consider demand and supply uncertainty and service level requirements during its optimization process. So any plan generated by planLM Supply Chain Optimizer has this reality built in; in other words the safety stock requirements and expedited shipments are accurately considered.

Green House Gas (GHG) Modeling

Carbon emissions are becoming a significant decision factor in supply chain design and planning. planLM Supply Demand Optimizer ...

• tracks carbon emissions for each transportation, production, resource consumption, inventory storage, procurement, and demand consumption activity in the supply chain
• incorporates carbon off-sets, i.e. trade value of emissions, cap and trade modeling
• provides the capability to be used both as a constraint to adhere to regulatory limits and as an objective, business goal, and strategy

Scalability of 64bit architecture

Fully utilizing 64bit architecture, there is no operating system based practical limitation on the size of the optimization model.

planLM Supply Chain Optimizer uses efficient modeling techniques for scalable optimization, integrates with various cutting edge 3rd party 64bit MIP solvers, and offers a choice of; ILOG Cplex v11, Dash Associates XpressMP v17, and open source Symphony/COIN.

Ease of modeling & flexibility

Since most businesses have their unique issues that need to be modeled, flexibility is crucial requirement of any planning engine. In addition to wide range of implicit modeling constructs, planLM Supply Chain Optimizer has the ability to consider user defined activities to model virtually every business issue.

Among built-in implicit modeling constructs; planLM Supply Chain Optimizer features constraint violation penalties, logical constraints, built-in resources, multi-level service contracts, shipment consolidation, fleet size modeling, and proportional sourcing to make model building a simple data load for most implementations.