OREANDA-NEWS. Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. announced that it has developed model predictive control technology specifically intended for supply chain management. Using this technology, it is possible to make successive revisions to plans based on multiple long-term forecasting scenarios and to respond to sudden changes in demand.

Big data has made it possible to forecast demand with increasing accuracy, but there is still a need to make better decisions for production quantities and order quantities in situations where demand often changes due to factors such as discount sales promotions or new product introductions. In such situations forecasting is considered to be unreliable and uncertain.

Fujitsu Laboratories has developed a model predictive control (MPC) technology, based on multiple forecasting scenarios, that looks ahead a certain amount of time to generate optimal ordering and production plans. Furthermore, by revising the forecasting model itself, it is possible to generate highly accurate planning made in response to sudden changes in demand.

This technology can be used, for example, to optimize inventories based on demand forecasts for retail store operations, or to generate ordering plans that optimize profits even when demand changes suddenly. When verified with actual customer data, profits increased by an average of roughly 16%.