System and method for designing supply chain for commodity product distribution

US8639549B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• L'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme Pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude · FR

Inventors

• Sujata S. Pathak · Newark, US
• Philippe Briet · Lyon, FR
• Franck Mornet · Gif-sur-Yvette, FR
• Nicoleta Neagu · Verrières-le-Buisson, FR
• Tejinder Pal Singh · Houston, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Oct 28, 2010
• Grant date: Jan 28, 2014
• Expiry date: Nov 28, 2031

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06Q10/063
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Techniques are disclosed for designing a supply chain distribution network. A network design tool may be configured to facilitates strategic decision making for a producer/distributor of a commodity products (e.g., molecular gas mixtures stored in cylinders) by incorporating transportation costs (i.e., operational decisions) into the strategic decision making process. Further, the network design tool may also integrate investment decision costs, which are usually considered ‘tactical decisions’, into the strategic decision process (e.g., which filling tools are assigned to which plant/hub location). The network design tool implements different algorithm approaches allowing a user to obtain optimal, near-optimal, and approximate solutions.