"Procter & Gamble Global Analytics has delivered operations research techniques that delivered pronounced cost savings to P&G," said INFORMS President Michael H. Rothkopf of Rutgers University. "These modeling and analytical techniques have helped the company grow and manage the complexity of a $50 billion organization operating in 80 countries."
INFORMS annually awards the INFORMS Prize for effective integration of operations research into organizational decision making. The award is given to an organization which has repeatedly applied the principles of operations research in pioneering, varied, novel, and lasting ways.
"Analytics and operations research have contributed to P&G's bottom line substantially over the last 10 years, helping to drive the strategies for our manufacturing capacity and distribution networks," said Keith Harrison, Procter & Gamble Product Supply Officer. "They have fundamentally improved our operations through better planning, scheduling, and inventory management tools and by simplifying our supply chain -- from our suppliers to our retail customers."
"Operations research is a competitive advantage for our business and demonstrates the power of P&G people and P&G innovation. This capability has given us the confidence that the critical supply chain investment decisions we make for our company are the right ones," Harrison added.
INFORMS cited Procter & Gamble with the INFORMS Prize for its far-reaching integration of operations research (OR) into the decision making structure of the firm. OR at P&G Global Analytics permeates the company's efforts to understand how products compete and can best be supplied in local markets around the world. Operations researchers at Procter & Gamble tackle issues such as manufacturing site location, inventory management, supply chain design, and strategic decision making.
"Every business person recognizes the value of increasing the confidence of their decisions when time, cost, or quality is on the line," said Glenn Wegryn, Associate Director of Global Analytics at Procter & Gamble. Glenn Wegryn accepted the award in Denver on behalf of P&G. He is available for interview. "Our operations researchers deliver that confidence-building through disciplined application of proven tools and methods. Since the 1960's, top managers at Procter & Gamble have recognized the edge OR gives them -- from top-line strategy and policy-making decisions to understanding the complexities of creating and managing competitive supply chains."
Operations research, known as the "Science of Better," is the discipline of applying advanced analytical methods to help make better decisions. INFORMS is holding its annual meeting in Denver at the Adams Mark Hotel from Sunday, October 24 to Wednesday, October 27. The INFORMS annual meeting includes sessions that apply to numerous fields, including airlines, health care, the military, information technology, energy, transportation, marketing, and e-commerce. More than 2,000 papers are scheduled to be delivered.
The General Chair of the convention is Prof. Manuel Laguna, University of Colorado Boulder, Leeds School of Business. Additional information about the conference is at http://www.informs.org/Conf/Denver2004 and http://www.informs.org/Press. Sponsors include, from the Denver area Coors, Jeppesen, and the University of Colorado at Boulder, Leeds School of Business; and IBM Research and ILOG.
The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS®) is an international scientific society with 10,000 members, including Nobel Prize laureates, dedicated to applying scientific methods to help improve decision-making, management, and operations. Members of INFORMS work in business, government, and academia. They are represented in fields as diverse as airlines, health care, law enforcement, the military, financial engineering, and telecommunications. The INFORMS website is www.informs.org. More information about operations research is at www.scienceofbetter.org.