Source: Economist Newsletter

There are always critical questions in the daily management of any company. What should I buy or produce? How? When? But the answers to these questions are of particular relevance in the context of a crisis, for example at present when the management of production is essential  to avoid the accumulation of stock. In this environment, while productivity is recognised as the main challenge of the Spanish economy, the Institute of Information Technology  has set the market developments that allow industries 20% improvements in productivity and service levels compared with the standard solutions offered by current ERP. Applications created by the Valencian Institute incorporate advanced methods of artificial intelligence and evolutionary computation.
One solution is the ITI’s tool that carries out production planning and forecasts demand, christened ControlStocks. Its aim is that the knowledge of sales on the horizon enable an efficient supply of raw materials and smooth production. Among its advantages is the adjustment of production to the things that are going to sell and therefore less stock stored and less obsolescence of stored products, as well as a bigger and better response capability.
ITI offers a programme that allows for scheduling of production, called Sekuen. This application takes into account most of the aspects most relevant to industry, for example existing production lines, several heterogeneous overlaps in production schedules or continuous and / or intermittent work.The program can also be connected to systems of production control in real time to reschedule the production in case of unforseen events such as a broken machine or the entry of an order of urgency.
These solutions have been the option chosen by ceramic industry leaders such as porcelain or Tau, but its implementation has been extended to other sectors. The valencian technology of ITI is bringing efficient market applications traditionally dominated by large multinationals.