How SoftBank Optimizes LPG Delivery Capacity by 25% with Hexaly
SoftBank's Success Story with Hexaly In Japan's dynamic Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) industry, companies face significant hurdles. High delivery costs and a shrinking workforce due to an aging population create a crucial need to optimize delivery operations to maintain a competitive edge. SoftBank, a major telecommunications and internet company known for embracing new technologies like AI and IoT, recognized this challenge and embarked on a journey to transform its LPG delivery process. Intr
SoftBank's Success Story with Hexaly
In Japan's dynamic Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) industry, companies face significant hurdles. High delivery costs and a shrinking workforce due to an aging population create a crucial need to optimize delivery operations to maintain a competitive edge. SoftBank, a major telecommunications and internet company known for embracing new technologies like AI and IoT, recognized this challenge and embarked on a journey to transform its LPG delivery process.
Introducing Routify: A Comprehensive Optimization Solution
SoftBank developed Routify, an innovative optimization service built upon the powerful Hexaly Optimizer.
Routify is not just about route planning; it's a comprehensive application designed to optimize the entire LPG delivery process, starting from predicting demand to calculating the most efficient delivery routes.
By leveraging artificial intelligence, Routify:
- Accurately forecasts LPG demand and the remaining gas in customer cylinders.
- Optimizes timing and volume of deliveries.
- Prevents both shortages and excess inventory.
The Magic of Hexaly: Intelligent Route Planning
A core element of Routify's success lies in its ability to compute optimized delivery routes using Hexaly Optimizer.
Considering customer locations and road conditions, Hexaly generates efficient routes that minimize travel distance and driving time. The system is also intelligent enough to:
- Prioritize areas with a higher need for container replacement.
- Reduce gas waste by avoiding unnecessary replacement of non-empty containers.
Field tests have demonstrated the remarkable impact of this optimization, achieving a 25% improvement in gas delivery capacity, meaning delivery staff can exchange 25% more gas per hour. This is a significant achievement, especially in the context of labor shortages.
Complex Challenges, Elegant Solutions: The Power of Hexaly's Modeling Capabilities
SoftBank's LPG delivery problem is far from simple, involving numerous operational constraints and objectives. However, Hexaly's set-based formalism and lambda-function capabilities made modeling these complexities straightforward.
Routify can compute near-optimal delivery routes for 1,000 customers over a week-long planning horizon in just minutes. The system considers crucial factors such as:
- Customer opening hours.
- Depot capacities and truck characteristics.
- Time windows and maximum work limits.
- Truck capacities and the need to avoid gas shortages.
The primary objectives include minimizing:
- The number of tours.
- Total delivery time.
- Gas waste.
- The total number of customer visits.
SoftBank chose Hexaly after benchmarking several optimization solvers, appreciating its ability to find fast and efficient solutions to tough problems and its flexible API for easily formulating complex constraints.
A Win-Win Scenario: Improved Efficiency and Customer Satisfaction
The integration of Hexaly into Routify has led to a significant boost in the efficiency of SoftBank's LPG delivery operations.
Beyond operational improvements, customer satisfaction has also increased. As Hiroyuki Kawamata from SoftBank states, Routify, powered by Hexaly, creates precise delivery plans that adapt to customer needs, ensuring smooth and efficient operations.
Seiichi Ishii, Chairman and President of ISG, highlights the critical need for efficient delivery operations and praises Routify's ability to predict gas consumption and automatically generate optimized plans, marking a significant step towards digital transformation.
Conclusion:
SoftBank's success story with Routify, powered by Hexaly, demonstrates the transformative potential of mathematical optimization in tackling complex logistical challenges. By embracing advanced technology, SoftBank has not only increased its LPG delivery capacity and reduced costs but has also improved customer satisfaction and contributed to environmental sustainability by minimizing CO2 emissions and gas waste. This story serves as a powerful example for other industries facing similar delivery optimization needs.
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