The INFORMS Prize
GE Research
Operations research at GE Research spans diverse global businesses, in each instance creating more value at lower risk. GE Research’s Risk & Value Management Lab, for example, applies operations research methods throughout many distinctive business areas, driving significant, sustained value. A mix of O.R. technologies helps researchers tackle different types of problems. Specialties within GE’s diverse portfolio – healthcare, energy/environment, financing, performance based services, transportation, communications/entertainment, engineering, and services design –benefit from operations research and analytics.
GE is ranked 6 in the Fortune 500.
[2008 INFORMS Prize winner]
Schneider National
Top executives at Schneider National appreciate the competitive advantage that quantitative analysis makes to an organization. They ask their O.R. team to address tough challenges throughout the company. The O.R. group's business model for success is results-driven, integral to the company's strategic goals, and demonstrates a consistent track record of impressive contributions to the bottom line. O.R. has been an important contributing part of Schneider’s business for over 25 years, enhancing applications in shipment and driver planning, revenue management, dedicated fleet management, and operational decision support. These applications improved annual Schneider National’s earnings by more than $10 million and exemplify O.R.’s integration into the business’s decision making.
Schneider National, Inc. is a provider of truckload, logistics and intermodal services. Serving more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, Schneider National offers a broad portfolio of services. The company’s transportation and logistics solutions include One-Way, Intermodal, Transportation Management, Dedicated and Bulk.
[2006 INFORMS Prize winner]
Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.
Operations research has been an important factor in the success of Fortune 500 company Air Products for over 35 years.
Testifying to the value of O.R. at Air Products & Chemicals, Andrew Bringhurst, the company’s Manager of Decision Sciences, says that the operations research function at Air Products “has a very long history, and it represents one of the real success stories in our profession. Applying O.R. to intricate problems in a way that is consistently creating value over a long period of time in the business areas that our company values…really proves that you can have a successful O.R. group in industry.”
Operations researchers at Air Products & Chemicals employ innovative dynamic pricing decision models, traditional applications of network designs and optimization, and tactical planning models for inventory and delivery resource optimization. These applications have contributed to an estimated cost savings of $5-8 million annually and more than $75 million cumulatively over a ten-year period.
Air Products & Chemicals is a worldwide supplier of industrial gases and equipment, specialty and intermediate chemicals, and environmental and energy systems.
The company is ranked 258 in the Fortune 500.
[2005 INFORMS Prize winner]
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company substantially integrates operations research principles into the decision-making structure of the firm, tackling issues such as global manufacturing site location and sourcing, inventory management, supply chain design, and consumer behavior analysis. Cost savings from operations research have been pronounced, helping P&G to grow and manage the complexity of a $50 billion organization operating in 80 countries. P&G has been recognized for the way O.R. principles permeate efforts to understand how products compete and can best be supplied in local markets around the world.
Procter & Gamble is ranked 25 in the Fortune 500.
[2004 INFORMS Prize winner]
UPS
For more than 50 years, operations research techniques have been contributing to UPS’s successful growth to a $39 billion company. UPS uses operations research to structure its organization of 360,000 people, 1,800 facilities, 90,000 vehicles, and 580 aircraft, and to facilitate the daily decisions that guarantee the prompt delivery of millions of parcels every day. Managerial decision-making at UPS is linked with O.R. methodologies, which have spread from operations research staff to managers at all levels. UPS has gone beyond the implementation of existing operations research technology to the development of original research, which has advanced the forefront of operations research. While providing many cost savings, operations research is a strategic lynchpin and a significant source of competitive advantage for UPS.
UPS is ranked 46 in the Fortune 500.
[2003 INFORMS Prize winner]
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard extensively uses operations research technologies across its value chain. Through partnership between Hewlett-Packard's Strategic Planning and Modeling group and the business divisions, Hewlett-Packard has diffused modeling innovations throughout the entire organization. These rigorous modeling and analytical methods have saved Hewlett-Packard and its supply chain partners hundreds of millions of dollars while increasing the company’s competitive advantage. Beyond the business achievements, Hewlett-Packard has shared its modeling thought leadership and application success stories with the industry, making it a good corporate citizen.
Hewlett-Packard is ranked 14 in the Fortune 500.
[2002 INFORMS Prize winner]
