ILOG claims that its Optimization Decision Manager (ODM) for interactive business planning and scheduling applications is the first software tool to automatically generate custom planning and scheduling apps. ODM also is the first optimization-based application development tool that lets business users configure and modify the applications that will drive their operational decision making, the developer says. Leveraging ILOG's experience creating user-driven applications based on business rules, ILOG ODM is designed to let users create, test, and compare "what-if" scenarios before committing to a particular plan or schedule. The developer says ODM enables users to take into account all of the costs, operating constraints, customer requirements, employee preferences and goals inherent in economic planning and the operational management of complex schedules. "What-if" scenarios include where to locate warehouse distribution centers, whether to build a new plant or assembly line, or how to schedule staff optimally while considering customer service requirements, labor laws, skills requirements and employee preferences. "We have long depended on the power and reliability of ILOG CPLEX for solving our toughest optimization problems, and we are delighted to see ILOG make this valuable technology easier to use with the introduction of ILOG Optimization Decision Manager," says Pano Santos, senior scientist for HP Labs in Palo Alto, Calif. "We believe that ILOG's out-of-the-box support for 'what-if' analysis and scenario comparison will help us develop better models and create decision support applications with ease." Visit www.ilog.com/products/odm for more information.
