An approach to sourcing optimization at a high volume soft drink manufacturer

The Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG) is the world's largest manufacturer, seller, and distributor of carbonated and non-carbonated Pepsi-Cola beverages. The supply chain network in the United States consists of 52 plants, over 360 warehouses, and an ever growing portfolio of SKU's. Currently, there is no robust method for determining the sourcing strategy - in which plant(s) to produce each product. The objective of this thesis is to develop an approach that allows PBG to determine where products should be produced to reduce overall supply chain costs while meeting all relevant business constraints. An approach to sourcing utilizing an optimization algorithm is presented, along with a suggested implementation plan. This approach has demonstrated the potential to generate significant cost savings throughout the supply chain. The research for this thesis was conducted during an internship with the Pepsi Bottling Group, in affiliation with the Leaders for Manufacturing program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Department dc:contributor.department

Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Khattar, Sandeep

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• David Simchi-Levi and David E. Hardt.

• Sloan School of Management.
• Mechanical Engineering.
• Leaders for Manufacturing Program.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/37135

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/37135