OPTANO Insights: Planning, Analytics and Best Practices

Practical articles on supply chain, prescriptive analytics and OR. How companies can improve their planning in a measurable and data-based way with OPTANO.

OPTANO Insights: Planning, Analytics and Best Practices

Practical articles on supply chain, prescriptive analytics and OR. How companies can improve their planning in a measurable and data-based way with OPTANO.

October 13, 2026

How Automotive Suppliers Ensure Feasible Detailed Planning in the Face of Last-Minute Changes to Order Calls

A prioritized task affects more than one slot in the schedule. The key is to determine which sequence still works given real-world constraints.

October 7, 2026

Interview: Rolling Capacity Planning: Planning for Internal Combustion Engines and Electric Mobility Together

How automotive suppliers plan capacity across their plants for internal combustion engines and e-mobility despite uncertain demand—with OPTANO and Gurobi.

October 6, 2026

Insights: Production Planning in Response to Changes in Demand

Changes in demand require quick responses. At the same time, effective production planning determines which scheduled processes will remain unchanged.

September 30, 2026

Insights: How Production Planning Turns Scarcity into a Transparent Decision

Material shortages in production planning cannot be eliminated through planning alone. However, scarce parts can be evaluated transparently and allocated to customer orders in a traceable manner.

August 26, 2026

Insights: When Low Water Levels Become a Planning Challenge

Low water levels are affecting the supply of raw materials in the chemical industry. What matters is not a single alternative transport route, but the coordinated interplay of capacities, inventories, and production priorities.

Insights: How Automotive Suppliers Reduce Cost Pressure Through Better Planning

Automotive suppliers are under significant cost pressure. Mathematical optimization helps to better align decisions regarding production, capacity, inventory, and delivery capability—particularly in areas where costs often arise unnoticed: when there are conflicting objectives and uncoordinated planning assumptions.

August 22, 2025

Rhythm Wheel based production planning

Rhythm-based production planning creates stability, reduces costs and brings calm to complex production processes.

Trade-offs as a challenge

For companies, trade-offs are an everyday reality and a challenge that needs to be mastered.

Reduce CO₂ emissions and save costs at the same time

Mathematical optimization makes it possible to save CO2 without major investment - and reduce costs at the same time. We show you how!

Service level vs. costs

The optimum balance between cost efficiency and service quality as one of the objectives of the Supply Chain Triangle.

Optimal safety stocks

High safety stocks give the good feeling of always having enough in stock, but also tie up a lot of capital. We show you how to find the optimum value.

Mathematical optimization for sustainable value creation

How can value chains be optimized and made ecologically sustainable? Analytics can help and even create a competitive advantage.

February 27, 2026

Interview: Optimization of transport networks

This interview with our experts shows why rising cost pressure and increasing complexity make structural optimization of transport networks necessary and what concrete potential this offers.

January 26, 2026

Complex CEP transport networks

How a data-driven proof of concept can identify short-term linehaul cost savings of ~5-10% - laying the foundation for holistic network optimization.

December 9, 2025

Mathematical optimization for the parcel industry

The peak season for parcel services begins with the holidays. Shipment volumes rise sharply, while customers expect particularly fast and punctual deliveries right now.

Insights: Inventory and production planning in the chemical industry

How chemical companies can better balance service, inventory and production and why Excel has its limits when it comes to integrated inventory and production planning.

Insights: Production allocation in chemicals and pharmaceuticals

Why multi-site planning in chemicals and pharmaceuticals is more than just shifting quantities and why Excel reaches its limits when it comes to cross-plant production decisions.

Interview: Excel works ... until it doesn't

Excel is still the central tool for planning in many companies. However, with increasing complexity, it is increasingly reaching its limits. In this interview, we talk about how to recognize this, why „working“ is not the same as „optimal“ and how planning is changing fundamentally today.