Challenges in Enterprise Wide Optimization for the Process Industries

Summary Enterprisewide optimization (EWO) is a new emerging area that lies at the interface of chemical engineering and operations research, and has become a major goal in the process industries due to the increasing pressures for remaining competitive in the global marketplace. EWO involves optimizing the operations of supply, manufacturing, and distribution activities of a company to reduce costs and inventories. A major focus in EWO is the optimal operation of manufacturing facilities, which often requires the use of nonlinear process models. Major operational items include planning, scheduling, real-time optimization, and inventory control. This chapter provides an overview of major challenges in the development of deterministic and stochastic linear/nonlinear optimization models and algorithms for the optimization of entire supply chains that are involved in EWO problems. We specifically review three major challenges: (a) modeling of planning and scheduling, (b) multiscale optimization, and (c) handling of uncertainties. Finally, we also discuss briefly the algorithmic methods and tools that are required for tackling these problems, and we conclude with future research needs in this area.