Investigacion Operativa

Texto completo: Headnote Swift &Company uses an integrated system of 45 linear-programming models based
on three model formulations to dynamically schedule its beef-fabrication operations atfive plants in real time as
it receives orders. This scheduling application resulted in documented improvements in key metrics, such as
order fulfillment, on-time delivery, and the percentage of aweek's scheduled production for which there are
existing orders. The application enabled Swift &Company to execute its business strategy and obtain a 200
percent return on investment in its firstyear of production. Key words: industries: agriculture, food;
programming: linear, applications. Swift &Company is a diversified protein-processing business based in
Greeley, Colorado. A privatelyheld company with publicly traded debt, Swift &Company has three business
segments: Swift Beef, Swift Pork, and Swift Australia. With annual sales of over $8 billion, beef and related
productsare by far the largest portion of Swift &Company's business. Swift has slaughter and processing
operations (the latter are also known as fabrication operations) at five plants located inColorado, Texas,
Nebraska, and Idaho. Three of the plants process fat cattle, animals up to two years old that have been fattened
on feed lots for 90 to120 days before slaughter. Lean cattle are olderanimals, such as bulls or dairy cows, that
are not fattened before slaughter. Used primarily in commercial food products, these animals are processed at
the remaining two plants. Each plant has thecapacity to process approximately 2,500 head of cattle per shift for
a total of 18,000 to 25,000 per plant per week. This translates to over 6.0 billion pounds of beef delivered
annually. Swift's mostimportant product line is boxed beef. Cattle buyers procure cattle on the open market
based on projected demand by brand, grade, and weight. After slaughter, each head of cattle yields two sides of...