Companies in the chemical sector supply a wide range of industries with specialized and standard products. Effective segmentation is required in marketing and sales, and order fulfillment as well as supply chain management to serve the diverse markets profitably. New competitors in emerging markets are putting additional pressure on margins in the face of unprecedented energy costs in Europe, thus reinforcing the need for process improvements. Fluctuations in demand on the one hand and supply constraints on the other pose a particular challenge to supply chain and operational planning and execution. In the chemical industry, this is often due to raw material-related disruptions and continuous or intermittent batch production. The asset-intensive production requires high OEE, while sustainability regulation and cost pressure add to the need for even greater waste reduction.

Special planning features of Elixum Avatar for the chemicals industry:

• Strategic planning for up to 15 years to account for network and capacity alternatives
• End-to-end visibility from raw materials, along the produced batches to special order packaging
• Segmented quote-to-cash processes, integrated allocation management, and order promising linking tactical planning and order-to-cash execution
• Synchronization of operational distribution planning and production planning
• Highly automated production planning and detailed planning process with sophisticated algorithms
• End-to-end inventory management from customer to supplier with multi-echelon optimization across the distribution network
• Simulation of planning scenarios on volume and cost dimension
• Tank and constrained storage planning
• Coupling production, yield, and shelf-life planning
• Risk-aware planning and supply chain configuration considering unknown disruptions
• Integrated collaborative planning and VMI with suppliers