Making good on its 2008 promise to continue developing the functionality of the ILOG technology it acquired in a $340 million deal, IBM today announced a slate of updated products that includes supply chain optimization and plant scheduling software.
Of note to manufacturers is the release of IBM ILOG LogicNet Plus XE 7.0 and IBM ILOG Plant PowerOps 3.2, applications respectively aimed at helping companies plan their supply chains and create production schedules.
The LogicNet Plus app helps manufacturers decide in which locations to make products, how many lines to run at particular facilities, where to warehouse the products, and other related supply chain matters. In the new XE version, users will now find tools that allow them to weigh the impact of tax rates in various locations and also model the effect of carbon emissions as part of their planning process.
“What we learned in working with several of our customers,” LogicNet Plus Product Manager Derek Nelson told Managing Automation, “is that oftentimes now the impact of the tax rates on their [supply network] design is a bigger lever than” considerations such as transportation, warehousing, and other costs. A lower tax rate in a particular locale, for instance, might cancel out the higher costs to operate a plant there or distribute goods locally, Nelson explained. LogicNet Plus users can now factor those considerations into their decisions.