design, the outcome from operational
testing is passed back into strategic
optimization.
Once the structural backbone of the
supply chain and product flow is modeled, the next step is to improve operational complexity and distribution.
OPERATIONS
Production scheduling. In many
production processes, setup times are
conditional on the sequence in which
operations are performed on a single
machine. Batch size is therefore a crucial decision because it determines how
often changeovers need to be done
and determines product availability in
the warehouse, which affects dispatch
to customers. Scheduling problems
become even more complex when the
same job can be performed on different machines with varying degrees of
efficiency. Using complex combinatorial
math optimization with column generation to optimize production schedules,
product throughput and asset utilization
can be improved by up to 5 percent.
Site design. Simulation is again an
ideal tool when production, transport or
other capabilities need to be designed
or redesigned to support operational
changes, in 6