Profit Point's Upgraded Supply Chain Design Software Improves Decisions in Capital Planning, Facilities Planning and Sustainability Initiatives
Profit Network 4.5 enhances visibility for decision makers and extends modeling capabilities to handle the world's largest supply chains.
North Brookfield, MA (PRWEB) February 4, 2010 -- Profit Point, a leading Supply Chain Optimization company, today announced the introduction of Profit Network 4.5, a major upgrade to their award-winning supply chain network design and modeling software. The software update includes a combination of new features and technical enhancements which combine to support richer scenario testing for larger supply chains over a longer time periods.
"With almost 10 years in the field, Profit Network has been put to the test against some of the world's largest supply chains," noted Jim Piermarini, Profit Point's Chief Technology Officer. "But best practices have expanded over time, so decision makers are looking for more integrated and comprehensive modeling solutions."
Profit Network 4.5, which is used by many Global 2000 companies to model supply chain plans, has been enhanced to integrate better capital planning, greater control over facilities decisions and improve tracking and modeling of sustainability initiatives. The modeling software now includes improved options for integrated capital spending, facilities decisions, natural resource planning and emissions mitigation.
"Ultimately, the number one priority for our customers remains capital planning and return on investments" said Piermarini. "A company's infrastructure plan will dictate 80% or more of future costs. So, we added several features that help analysts understand the capital impact of decisions to control costs and maximize the long-term logistics benefits."
The software update also includes several technical enhancements to improve planning for the largest supply chains, over longer periods of time. "We've added a new core optimization process into Profit Network 4.5," stated Piermarini. "Customers will now have 50% more addressable memory capacity, which will yield deeper visibility in to larger networks and the long term tradeoffs that are being modeled.
To learn more about Profit Network and Profit Point's supply chain software, visit www.profitpt.com.
About Profit Point:
Profit Point Inc. was founded in 1995 and is now a global leader in supply chain optimization. The company's team of supply chain consultants includes industry leaders in the fields infrastructure planning, green operations, supply chain planning, distribution, scheduling, transportation, warehouse improvement and business optimization. Profit Point's has combined software and service solutions that have been successfully applied across a breadth of industries and by a diverse set of companies, including Dow, The Coca-Cola Company, General Electric, Logitech, Sealed Air, Bridgestone and Toyota.
Labels: Green Network, Green Optimization, Infrastructure Planning, Jim Piermarini, Network Design, Press Releases, Profit Network
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Profit Point creates greener and more profitable supply chains with FICO Xpress Optimization Suite
Below is a video interview with Ted Schaefer, Profit Point's Director of Supply Chain Services, discussing supply chain optimization including cost reduction and supply chain sustainability issues for greener decisions with Xpress Optimization Suite.
To learn more about our supply chain network design services, contact us here.
Labels: Green Network, Green Optimization, Infrastructure Planning, Network Design, Ted Schaefer, video
Thursday, October 22, 2009
How to Be Green and Profitable in a Downturn
In this video interview with CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly, Ted Schaefer, Supply Chain Practice Leader at Profit Point, offers practical advice on how to make supply chains both "green" and profitable.
Watch the video interview to learn more about the ways leading companies are cutting costs and emissions:
To learn more about Profit Point's Supply Chain Services, please contact us.
Labels: Global Supply Chain, Green Network, Green Optimization, Network Design, Ted Schaefer, video
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Greening Your Supply Chain... and Your Bottom Line
"If too little attention is paid to sustainability and green initiatives, profitability and survival can be put at risk."This month's issue of Manufacturing Today features an informative article entitled You Can Go Green. The article, which was co-authored by Profit Point's President, Dr. Alan Kosansky, and the firm's Director of Supply Chain Services, Ted Schaefer, reviews the trade-offs and consequences of improving financial performance of the supply chain footprint, while also reducing the environmental impact.
You can read the complete article here.
To learn more about Profit Point's Supply Chain Optimization services, please contact us.
Posted with permission from Manufacturing Today.
Labels: Green Optimization, Publications, Supply Chain Intelligence, Sustainability
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Improving Your Odds of Winning a Stimulus Grant via Innovation, Sustainability and Partnerships
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has issued final guidance for the $1.5 billion in surface transportation grants it will award by next February, and among the top selection criteria will be environmental sustainability, innovation, and partnerships. DOT has included sustainability - improved energy efficiency, lower greenhouse gases, and/or less dependence on foreign oil - as one of five criteria it will consider in evaluating a proposed project's long-term beneficial outcomes for a metropolitan area, a region, or the country. Long-term outcomes, along with a project's impact on job creation and near-term economic stimulus, will be DOT's primary criteria for awarding grants.
DOT will also be considering two secondary criteria - innovation and partnerships. DOT is soliciting projects that use innovative technologies to achieve long-term outcomes or significantly enhance the operational performance of transportation systems, and projects that involve partnerships with non-Federal entities and the use of non-Federal funds. Priority will be given to projects for which a grant will help complete an overall financing package.
Recent estimates from DOT suggest that up to $50 Billion in grant requests may be submitted, making this a highly competitive process. It will be essential for an applicant to thoroughly meet the primary guidelines and to score well on secondary guidelines to win tiebreakers. If your project doesn't yet adequately address the three considerations of innovation, sustainability and partnership, Profit Point may be able to improve your chances of success:
Sustainability
Profit Point provides mathematics-based solutions that optimize the use of resources for maximal efficiency. Frequently this optimization results in reduced transportation mileage which minimizes greenhouse gas emissions as well as fuel consumption. It might also involve minimizing water use, minimizing output of toxic pollutants or maximizing production of beneficial byproducts.
Some examples include:
- Scheduling ship berths at ports to minimize ship idle time in a harbor
- Scheduling port (or canal) maritime traffic
- Optimizing a port drayage schedule to minimize delays and overland carrier idle times
- Optimizing local school bus or public transit system routes to minimize greenhouse gas emissions while providing optimal service
- Routing your deliveries or pickups using the fewest miles traveled
- Providing the algorithm to trigger variable speed limits on traffic leading to a congested area such as a city center or bridge
- Optimizing deliveries for the elderly, such as "Meal on Wheels," to minimize vehicle costs and emissions
- Conducting infrastructure studies to evaluate the full impact of a project, such as a port expansion with intermodal considerations
Innovation
While innovation is not a primary criterion for selection, it will be used to rank similar projects in order to break a tie. Adding leading edge technology such as mathematics-based optimization to your grant application provides one way of strengthening its innovative appeal.
Optimization is one of the hottest topics in industry today because it not only ensures operations are maximizing their current objectives, but also allows 'what if' modeling for future scenarios. "What if modeling" helps ensure continued achievement of your objectives, no matter what set of circumstances may occur.
Partnerships
After DOT considers primary criteria, priority will be given to innovative projects and those that involve State and local governments or private or nonprofit entities.
While there are certainly many partners available, adding a private, small business partner such as Profit Point, Inc. to the application may strengthen its overall appeal. Building on Profit Point's extensive sustainable logistics and mathematical optimization experience can help make your project application unique.
Presenting the Proposal
Should you need assistance preparing your application or prefer advice from a transportation expert, you may wish to work with an experienced consultant on surface transportation issues. Phillips Strategic Services, a Northern Virginia firm with strong ties to both industry and government, is one firm available to assist you. Phillips Strategic Services experience includes:
- Policy leadership at the Federal Highway Administration;
- Policy development and lobbying for American Trucking Associations;
- Senior staff to a Senate Committee handling surface transportation issues; and
- Various government affairs, marketing, and strategic planning positions with Union Pacific Railroad, Conrail and CSX
In conclusion, nearly any type of surface transportation project is eligible for funding under the discretionary program, which was authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. DOT has named the program "Grants for Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery" or TIGER Discretionary Grants, and applications are due by September 15, 2009 with all grants to be awarded by February 17, 2010.
If you'd like to improve your chances of success by strengthening the sustainability and innovative appeal, or if you need a partner to help you present your application most effectively, please contact us:
Profit Point, Inc.
No. Brookfield, MA
Cindy Engers: (925) 736-6800, cengers@profitpt.com
Richard Guy: (435) 487-9141, rguy@profitpt.com
Phillips Strategic Services Ltd.
Alexandria, VA
Mary Phillips: (703) 360-3560, mphillips@phillipsstrategicservices.com
Labels: Government, Green Optimization, Optimization, Sustainability, Transportation
Monday, April 20, 2009
EPA Sets the Stage for a Green Supply Chain Mandate
Climate change – or global warming – and the effort to curb the impact of human activities thought to contribute to it – are continuously becoming a higher priority on the agendas of governments, commercial and non-governmental organizations and individuals around the world. In the United States of America the Environmental Protection Agency, the main federal government environmental watchdog and regulator, recently issued a report finding that projected future levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) "endanger the public health and welfare of current and future generations", setting the stage for a more intense GHG regulatory regime in the future in a country that has lagged behind imposing the regulatory restraints now in place in many other parts of the world.A combination of internal and external factors have motivated many companies to work towards better measurement, and control, of their impact on the environment, whether in the areas generation of greenhouse gasses, emission of waste water and other effluents or consumption of renewable and non-renewable resources. But as always, companies need to ensure that they make changes in their activities in a cost-effective, as well as environmentally-effective, manner. We at Profit Point recognize the need to do this, and are working with our clients to help them make the best decisions in this regard.
Our Profit Network supply chain planning software has helped various clients make such decisions as:
- how do we consolidate separate distribution systems after a merger of two organizations, or
- where to produce and how to ship new products coming into the marketplace?
However, Profit Network is capable of taking into account not only the cost of such plans, but also the environmental impact. We recently worked with a client who had significant environmental constraints at both the entrance to and exit from their factories – they had significant limits on the amount of source water (a key raw material required for their manufacturing) that they could draw from surface and underground sources, and also had constraints at many facilities regarding the amount for waste water they could dispose of. Both of these constraints varied over the course of the year and geographically over the service territory. Using Profit Network they were able to see the cost and production location impact of the environmental constraints, and make choices regarding how to respond to their situation.
Another major concern of companies is their levels of emissions of greenhouse gasses. A major corporation in the United States of America recently announced that it was working to reduce its GHG impact through
- Retiring less efficient and higher-emitting production facilities;
- Reducing leakage of GHGs from its production and distribution systems;
- Increasing energy efficiency in its buildings;
- Increasing the fuel efficiency of its vehicle fleet.
Profit Point is here to help our clients make better decisions – this includes making better decisions regarding the many environmental choices that companies have in today’s increasingly regulated environment.
This article was written by Dr. Gene Ramsay, Profit Point's Infrastructure Planning Practice Leader. To learn more about designing a sustainable supply, contact us here.
Author's Notes:
1. Reference for the company mentioned in the text above: http://www.eponline.com/articles/71680/.
2. Reference for the EPA announcement: http://www.mercurynews.com/politics/ci_12168524.
Labels: Green Network, Green Optimization, Infrastructure Planning, Sustainability
Monday, December 01, 2008
Profit Point Wins 2008 Green Supply Chain Award
Green Network software is recognized for its role in helping to build environmentally sustainable businesses.Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazine honored Profit Point, a leading supply chain optimization company , with a 2008 Green Supply Chain Award. The company and its Green Network supply chain design software was recognized as a Green Supply Chain Enabler. Profit Point is showcased with other award winners in the latest issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
Profit Point has been delivering supply chain optimization services and software to Fortune 500 companies for more than a decade. Earlier this year, the company introduced Green Network when it recognized that its clients needed a robust tool to account for and optimize away manufacturing waste, such as industrial pollutants and green house gas emissions.
"Profit Network software has been helping large companies around the world build more robust and profitable supply chains for more than 10 years," said Jim Piermarini, Profit Point's CTO. "From our clients' perspective it makes sense to incorporate environmental byproducts in to the network design to evaluate opportunities and costs and conduct scenario testing in advance of these critical infrastructure decisions."
The company's software products are now used to help companies manage the tradeoffs associated with environmental resource constraints, such as limited water supplies in developing countries. Profit Point's transportation and distribution clients achieve more efficient territory planning and vehicle routes, which mitigates unnecessary fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.
The Green Supply Chain Awards recognize small, midsize and large organizations that are taking steps to realize eco-efficiency goals. Submissions were judged based on the clarity and content of each program's goals and strategy, the extent of the steps being taken, the impact of the results to date and projected results, and the form and presentation of the information submitted.
"We are honored to be recognized by Supply & Demand Chain Executive for our focus on sustainability and we're delighted to play a role in helping business managers define and reach environmental sustainability objectives across their supply chain," said Alan Kosansky, President of Profit Point. "We look forward to any opportunity to help create a more sustainable business environment."
To learn more about Profit Point's supply chain software and services, visit www.profitpt.com.
About Profit Point:
Profit Point Inc. was founded in 1995 and is now a global leader in supply chain optimization. The company's team of supply chain consultants includes industry leaders in the fields infrastructure planning, green operations, supply chain planning, distribution, scheduling, transportation, warehouse improvement and business optimization. Profit Point's has combined software and service solutions that have been successfully applied across a breadth of industries and by a diverse set of companies, including The Coca-Cola Company, General Electric, Logitech, Rohm and Haas and Toyota.
Labels: Awards, Green Network, Green Optimization, Press Releases, Publications, Sustainability
Monday, September 29, 2008
Can you be green and profitable?
This month's cover story in the CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly magazine feature's an excellent article written by Profit Point's Green Optimization Practice Leader, Ted Schaefer, and the firm's President, Dr. Alan Kosansky.The article, Can you be green and profitable?, deals with two competing, yet critical issues that face supply chain managers across the globe. As the authors point out, "profitability and sustainability don't have to be mutually exclusive. By considering environmental issues when setting financial objectives for a supply chain network analysis, companies can successfully balance the trade-offs between them."
You can read the complete article here.
If you would like to learn more about our Green Supply Chain Optimization services please contact us.
Labels: Green Network, Green Optimization, Infrastructure Planning, Optimization, Publications, SC Operations Planning, Sustainability
Friday, May 02, 2008
Ted Schaefer Featured on Better Process Podcast
The Better Process Podcast, an industry show that discusses lean manufacturing news, today featured Ted Schaefer, Profit Point's Director of Logistics and Supply Chain Services. The show is hosted by Ken Rayment, a manufacturing engineer and Six Sigma Black Belt.The interview covered a range of topics addressing the challenges that small and mid-size manufacturing firms are facing today, including rising energy costs and increasing competition overseas. The show also highlighted several manufacturing paradigm shifts such as rising wages in China and India and greening supply chains, which are causing manufacturers to reconsider various aspects of their production and distribution processes.
The discussion included a number of recommendations that manufacturers ought to consider, including approaches toward making quantitative trade-offs and the application of optimization techniques to find the lowest total cost for manufacturing.
Listen to the interview here
To learn more about how Profit Point's supply chain consultants can help optimize your supply chain, contact us here: (866) 347-1130 or
(435) 487-9141
Labels: Green Optimization, Infrastructure Planning, Supply Chain Intelligence
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Dwight Collins Interviewed at Cornell's Sustainable Energy Conference
Dwight Collins, Profit Point's Green Supply Chain expert, attended the Sustainable Energy Conference at Cornell University and was interviewed by the Cornell Chronicle for his work on sustainable operations research. The conference, entitled "Sustainable Energy Systems: Investing in Our Future," provided a full slate of talks that outlined the relationship between energy and climate challenge and considered the viability of an array of solutions ranging from conservation, petroleum and coal to nuclear, solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric and biofuels sources.Collins, who teaches sustainable operations management at the Presidio School of Management, noted that the "the OR profession is missing out on some major opportunities for leadership in the field of sustainable business."
Read the complete article here.
Labels: Green Optimization, Operations Research, Supply Chain Intelligence, Sustainability
Friday, April 04, 2008
Profit Point Releases Green Supply Chain Software Solution
Profit Point, a leading supply chain optimization firm, announces the introduction of Green Network, a green supply chain network design application.North Brookfield, MA (PRWEB) April 4, 2008 -- Profit Point, Inc., a leading supply chain optimization consultant, today announced the release of Green Network, a supply chain network design application that empowers a supply chain manager to gain visibility in to the trade-offs they will face when designing a green supply chain. Built upon proven technology, Green Network extends the company's Profit Network application by enabling supply chain managers to include any number of environmental byproducts, including carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, particulates, and wastewater, in to the analysis process. The user can also manage total energy consumption or the type of energy consumed (coal, natural gas, hydroelectric, thermal, wind, etc.) in the design of the supply chain.
"Many of our clients have expressed a strong interest in greening their supply chains to meet the growing demand by consumers," said Alan Kosansky, Profit Point's President. "Designing a sustainable supply chain is becoming a significant priority for our clients, but not at any cost. The key to building a sustainable supply chain comes in truly understanding the trade-offs that are faced by decision makers."
Green Network was designed as an out-growth of Profit Network, an industry-leading supply chain network design software system. Profit Network is a robust, yet cost-effective tool that helps companies of all sizes optimize their supply chain for maximum profitability.
"Profit Network software has been helping Fortune 500 companies around the world build more robust and profitable supply chains for more than 10 years," said Jim Piermarini, Profit Point's CTO. "By leveraging our work in Profit Network, we were able to build a powerful tool that accounts for environmental impact and profitability."
In addition to Profit Network and Green Network, Profit Point's line of supply chain software also includes Profit Vehicle Router, a system for optimizing transportation routing, Profit Distribution Scheduler for easy production and distribution scheduling and Profit Meeting Scheduler, a sophisticated conference scheduler used by major trade organizations.
For additional information about Profit Point's supply chain design and optimization software and consulting services, contact Richard Guy or visit www.ProfitPt.com.
About Profit Point:
Profit Point Inc. is a supply chain consulting firm founded in 1995 and is now a global leader in supply chain optimization. The company's team of supply chain consultants includes industry leaders in the fields infrastructure planning, green operation, supply chain planning, distribution, scheduling, transportation, warehouse improvement and business optimization. Profit Point's has combined software and service solutions that have been successfully applied across a breadth of industries and by a diverse set of companies, including The Coca-Cola Company, General Electric, Rohm and Haas and Toyota.
Contact:
Richard Guy
Profit Point
(866) 347-1130
Labels: Green Network, Green Optimization, Press Releases, Sustainability
Tuesday, November 18, 2003
Achieving a Sustainable Supply Chain
Achieving sustainable supply chain improvement is of the highest urgency in today's highly competitive world, and will probably be even more so in the future. Despite the urgency, the majority of supply chain initiatives have failed to deliver expected results. This paper argues that these failures arise from two flaws:
- The improvement initiatives have been piecemeal instead of whole-system; and
- The initiatives have attended to the technology and business processes, but have ignored the human side of organizations.
Read the complete article on Achieving a Sustainable Supply Chain.
Labels: Green Optimization, SC Operations Planning, Supply Chain Intelligence, Sustainability
