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A Quick Definition of Optimization

Contents

Optimization Primer

"According to AMR Research, some of the early users of applications employing modern-day optimization saw ROI levels of up to 300 percent."

Definition

op·ti·mize:
  1. To be optimistic
  2. To make as effective, perfect, or useful as possible
  3. To make the best of
  4. (Computer technology)
    a. To prepare (a program) that automatically adjusts itself to operate at maximum efficiency
    b. To rewrite (a program) to obtain maximum efficiency

(Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language)
 

Optimization - a Powerful Business Tool

Optimization is a technology for calculating the best possible utilization of resources (people, time, processes, vehicles, equipment, raw materials, supplies, capacity, securities, etc.) needed to achieve a desired result, such as minimizing cost or process time or maximizing throughput, service levels, or profits. Optimization technology improves decision making speed and quality by providing businesses with responsive, accurate, real-time solutions to complex business problems.

Optimization is not just efficient and effective in an economic sense - it allows businesses to easily accommodate customer and employee preferences, improving quality of life for customers, employees, staff - everybody! Customers wait less and get better service. Employees can easily arrange their schedules around shift and vacation preferences without disrupting business operations or service levels. Managers can focus on proactive planning instead of last minute reacting. People can make highly informed decisions more quickly and more accurately than ever before. Optimization creates a great "win" for everyone!

Once embedded in software, optimization technology becomes the "engine" that quickly and accurately solves complex business problems within an application. Problems ranging from high-level planning to tactical operations - and everywhere in between - can be effectively solved using optimized applications. The wide variety of applications benefiting from optimization include:

  • Production planning and scheduling
  • raw material blending
  • yield & revenue management
  • crew scheduling
  • financial portfolio management
  • product configuration
  • technician and truck dispatching
  • crew scheduling
  • satellite mission planning
  • many others
Optimization Benefits

Optimization is synonymous with reducing costs, increasing productivity, and improving profitability. Optimization also speeds application development and simultaneously empowers developers to create "smarter" more feature-rich software further improving your business and increasing its profitability. These benefits help optimization technology generate the highest Return On Investment (ROI) in the software industry. Payback time is usually measured in months - and sometimes in days!

Optimization can benefit your business and profitability in many ways:

  • Optimized applications generate solutions faster than any other software
  • Optimization automates your solution process and verifies that the solution adheres to your business rules
  • Optimization dramatically improves business flexibility, responsiveness to changing circumstances, and ability to test "what if" scenarios
  • Optimization focuses decisions and resources on business priorities

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