PlaNet can optimize your supply network as well as your S&OP

Manufacturers should undertake the exercise of right-sizing and right-locating their facilities periodically in order to be end-to-end cost optimal. They should also have a robust sales & operations planning (S&OP) process in place for optimal demand fulfillment. Spreadsheet-based models cannot solve these complex problems. PlaNet allows you to leapfrog the optimization technology’s learning curve and lets you focus on your customers and business.

Right-sizing and right-locating for you supply chain network for strategic capacity optimization

Manufacturing companies need to periodically reassess if its production assets are optimally sized and located, if its raw materials are sourced from the right locations, and if its distribution centers are located optimally. Each of these decisions (the size as well as the locations of the nodes in your supply chain) have significant impacts on your bottom line. So much so that companies have gone bankrupt as a result of wrong node sizes and locations! Linear programming allows you to formulate and solve such problems efficiently. Powerful solvers can solve for your optimal network, while honoring ALL constraints, in minutes.

PlaNet is a one-stop application for network optimization and optimal S&OP

Functional Features

Open-close decisions
Alternate BOMs
Alternate recipes
Multiple modes of transportation
Generic n-tier model of the supply chain
Trade Offs between make vs. buy
Revenue maximization
Cost minimization
Service level constraints
Inclusion of capital expense and variable costs
Network Design study
Capacity Planning Study
Mergers & Acquisition analysis

Building blocks and technology

Single-period & Multi-period network models
Modeling of the entire production value chain of the SKUs
Alternate BOMs
Alternate recipes
Multiple modes of transportation
Handle many supply, production, and consumption nodes
Tradeoffs between make vs. buy
Revenue maximization
Cost minimization
Inventory constraints
Service level constraints
Handle work in progress (WIP)
Inclusion of fixed and variable cost models
Material/Product Flow Path Optimization
Cost-To-Serve Optimization
Contingency Planning
Exchange or swap agreements

IT and Interfacing Features

Intuitive User Interface
Rich reporting capability
Tables and canned reports
Browser-based UI
Can be interfaced to ERP / corporate Databases
Can upload/download data using Excel
Robust formulation
Powered by MIP solvers
Scalable performance
Available as a service – can be called by a client
Integrated with a relational DB
What-if scenario analysis capability
Secure, role-based access
Traffic-lighting to facilitate collaboration between users
Error-handling of data
Infeasibilities handling

Optimal S&OP plans

Many companies use Excel models to generate their monthly sourcing, manufacturing, and inventory plans. As a result, they are forced to plan at the product family level and at the production site level. Often, a plan is created without regard to constraints and business metrics. Scenarios are seldom created as the planner is exhausted by the time a single feasible plan is completed. On the other hand purpose-built models, like the one at the core of PlaNet, allow you to model at the SKU level and at the work-center level. PlaNet optimizes for production while honoring ALL constraints within minutes. This allows for planners to elevate their roles from being mere number-crunchers to analysts.

A large polymers company

This company has over fifty manufacturing locations globally and wanted to optimize its supply network as well as its S&OP. End-to-end costs were made up of raw material cost, conversion cost, freight, taxes, tariffs, duties, and foreign exchange. Optimization was used to make a crucial decision to close one location. The company saved $4 Million in inventory reduction and 5% in freight costs.

Ready to test if PlaNet is right for you?

Call us with your network optimization and S&OP needs. We have a systematic process and a questionnaire which allows you to do a quick assessment of your business needs and difficulty level. We can provide data templates in Excel.