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Case: Empty Tank Container Repositioning System Case Summary The client, a global leader in 3PL transportation with liquid tank containers, required "an optimized empty tank containers repositioning planning system". Tata Infotech using its expertise in optimization developed an effective solution that led to vast improvements in tank container utilization, leading to about 12% rise in revenue in the first year. This cost effective solution was delivered in time and within budget. To ensure timely and cost effective implementation we deployed our proven onsite-offshore model. Interactions between our on-site team and client's business groups helped us understand the complexities of the requirements and were instrumental in containing project risks. The Client: A leading 3PL Client Description US based leading 3PL, is one of the world's leading providers of transportation services for bulk liquid chemicals, edible oils, acids and other specialty liquids. The company, through its intercontinental parcel tanker, coastal parcel tanker, river parcel tanker, tank container, terminal and rail services, provides integrated transportation solutions for its customers on a worldwide basis. The Tank Container Division has more than 98 locations worldwide and has 7 control areas. It operates a fleet of approximately 14,500 tank containers of between 17 to 26 K Liters in size that are used to ship bulk liquids of different types, including chemicals and food items, throughout the world. The Challenge Owing to the dynamics of supply & demand and Production variances certain regions of the world become net importers of bulk liquids while others become net exporters. This imbalance leads to a build up of empty tanks in some areas and shortages in others thereby leading to inefficiencies in operations. And space on the vessels is normally booked using long term shipping contracts, on defined shipping lanes, with a pre-agreed minimum and maximum tanks per week. The client was faced with the challenge of generating optimized repositioning plans for the empty tankers. The Solution To overcome the challenges, Tata Infotech developed "Optimized Empty Tank Container Repositioning System" system using ILOG's CPLEX. The solution is a product of the following technologies working in tandem -
The system helps planners generate the repositioning plans based on constraints related to depot, inventory and shipping lane contracts .The system maximizes the utilization of tank containers and minimizes the cost of repositioning The system is implemented on the J2EE framework hosted on a WebSphere 4.0 application server and an Apache web server with an interface to existing MIS systems running on AS/400, DB2. The Benefits According to an estimate the solution helped the client generate new business to the tune of USD ~7 m and achieve savings in the range of ~4 million USD. The system has helped client accrue following benefits:
Tata Infotech Value Addition Tata Infotech modeled the problem, architected and implemented an integrated solution and the verified the results over a number of planning cycles. In a follow-up work, Tata Infotech significantly extended the horizon for the planner to support strategic budgetary planning |
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