Worldwide Sourcing Planning at Solutia's Glass Interlayer Products Division

Baptiste Lebreton (1) , Luk N. Van Wassenhove , Roger Bloemen (2)

1 TOM
2 Saflex

The article describes the realization of an optimization project by a global chemical manufacturer with the objective to develop and implement a supply chain coordination tool. After a presentation of the current supply chain and the challenges faced by Solutia prior to the optimization project, we provide an overview on the mathematical model depicting the company's worldwide production network. We then provide insight into the lessons learned by both optimization team and supply chain managers. Next to the financial benefits, the project contributed to structure the scattered knowledge around a complex supply chain. We also address the shortcomings of ERP systems when it comes to providing reliable planning data and, in this context, draw parallels between optimization and software development projects.

Mots clés: Physical Sciences

Baptiste Lebreton, Luk N. Van Wassenhove, Roger Bloemen. Worldwide Sourcing Planning at Solutia's Glass Interlayer Products Division. International Journal of Production Research, 2009, 48 (03), pp.801-819. ⟨10.1080/00207540802448874⟩. ⟨hal-00547667⟩