Most petrochemical companies are undergoing radical changes. The markets being served have expanded globally, customer service expectations have increased, and demand has become much more volatile and hence less predictable. The resulting product supply chains evolve/develop over time, with integrating decision-making processes and advanced planning practices becoming more prominent. A proactive approach with longer time horizons becomes the norm for excellence. Refinery expansion and highly integrated/sophisticated manufacturing technology have also contributed to increased interdependency within and between supply chains (upstream to feed sources, downstream to end consumer, and between logistics networks). These developments resulted in what is termed advance supply chain planning. Notwithstanding its unique differences, the petrochemical industry still has a lot of ground to cover before it can reach some of the advance supply chain planning benefits reported in other industries. This article presents what is believed to be an appropriate supply chain planning approach/framework for decision making in large-scale, integrated petrochemical companies.
An Autonomous Decentralized Supply Chain Planning and Scheduling System
