Recipe optimization and its twin, formula optimization, are common requirements for some industries. For example juice manufacturers need to produce the same quality product all year round, but the raw materials are not consistent in quality; in summer fruit will be juicy and sweet, in winter it wil be dryer and sour. Even between individual delivered batches considerable differences in quality may exist. Recipe optimization as part of production planning or strategic planning can make better use of available materials or even support purchasing decisions.

Product grades, rejects and recycles

Another common scenario, especially in chemical businesses, are products that pass or fail a quality assurance test after production. These rejects can be thrown away, but it would be better to recycle them or re-process into something else and be able to sell it anyway. There are usually very tight constraints on how much reject can be used and these need to be abided by during production. Conversely if there isn't enough low grade product to satisfy a customer order it could be chosen to add some higher grade product and make the shipment on time and in full.

A production planning solution for companies with these issues needs to be able to flexibly determine the right amounts of ingredients for individual batches. Wahupa SCM is such a solution: all supply chain management aspects are combined in one product.

We have not built recipe optimization building blocks yet, but we are looking for customers. Learn about the pros and cons of becoming an early adopter.