Integrated forecast and optimized lot sizes

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Case study: Integrated forecast and optimized lot sizes in the packaging industry

COSMO CONSULT has established a special module for forecasting and lot size planning in areas such as production, warehousing and transportation for a company developing a merchandise management system for the packaging industry. With the integrated, simultaneous optimization of production, storage and transportation costs, users can reduce the total costs in the supply chain by 2 to 3 percent. 

Key Facts

  • Automated demand forecasts
  • Optimal production output taking into account set-up and storage costs
  • Flexible consideration with regard to customer-related restrictions and alternative production processes
  • Providing support to multiple plants with one central optimization server (client-server architecture)

Initial situation

The developer of a merchandise management system tailored to the packaging industry and including modules for production and logistics control was looking for a solution for lot size optimization. The goal was to provide better support to customers who plan on a short-term basis and do not take the total cost aspects into consideration when managing lot sizes. The software company commissioned COSMO CONSULT to develop a corresponding module for production, storage and transportati

Approach

After a joint workshop, the project team first developed a software architecture consisting of various modules for:

  • Forecasting
  • Processing of the data (pre- and postprocessing)
  • Optimization and
  • Visualization

In order to make better use of computer capacities and licenses and to keep the costs low for each user, they decided on a client-server solution: While forecasting, data preparation and visualization are run on the client side, the optimization is executed on the server side.

For the implementation, the project team chose an agile approach with regular customer feedback and an interactive development process. Working closely with customers and partners allowed us to take into account many industry-related optimization issues. A particular challenge was the typical long duration of the mixed-integer problem (MIPs). With efficient modeling and a suitable selection of optimization parameters, the runtimes could be reduced to 5-10 minutes per optimization run.

The planning system is based on a Microsoft SQL Server database, which includes all input and output data. The optimization processes can either be planned in advance or executed manually.

Additional benefit

Through the integrated, simultaneous optimization of production, storage and transportation costs, the total costs can be reduced in the supply chain by 2 to 3 percent. In the future, it will be easy to simulate different scenarios - such as different shifts or machine investments - by adjusting parameters. The planning processes can be initiated both on a regular basis (e.g. weekly), as part of a rolling planning, as well as manually. The company applies the solution through regular planning processes and individual evaluations such as what-if analyses. With the new module, it has been possible to reduce the overall costs and to better assist employees in planning by automatically generating decision proposals.

Ask our experts

COSMO CONSULT has many years of experience in providing digital solutions in the field of data science. Our services are based on a clear approach, detailed knowledge of business processes, and excellent product expertise. Our experts will be happy to advise you on the unique possibilities available to you when you use modern software technologies. Please give us a call! We look forward to talking with you on how your business can enter the digital age.

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