Optimized Production in the Tea Industry

In this project, we work together with a leading German producer of herbal and fruit infusions as well as medicinal teas. The aim in this cooperation within the ADA Lovelace Center is to develop mathematical methods for the optimized selection of raw and semi-manufactured materials for tea production. The task is to select among all available batches of the ingredients on stock those which are best suited for the production of the tea mixtures ordered by the customers according to their recipe specifications. Most importantly, it has to be decided in an optimal fashion which precise batches are used for the production of each ordered mixture in order to attain the highest possible coverage of fulfilled production orders at any given point in the planning horizon. In doing so, the defined quality requirements of the customers, as well as all market demands concerning the final products, have to be met. By an optimal utilization of the available batches, the company will be able to benefit from high savings in production costs and a much more sustainable stock management. Furthermore, an automated generation of proposals for the production plans will significantly shorten the time and effort required in the planning phase. This will free up resources that can be dedicated to addressing more strategic questions in customer demand satisfaction.

Participants: Andreas Bärmann, Oskar Schneider