From the Shadows

Does linear programming have a place in the corporate executive suite? Or, does it belong solely in the refinery, the plant, the warehouse, and the terminal, on whose detailed operations and configuration LP applications have historically focused?

In October 1982, Duke University's Center for Corporate Economics and Strategy sponsored a well-attended conference (“The Future of Optimization Models for Strategic Planning”) that shed some new light on this question. The conference explored the actual and potential contributions of mathematical programming (primarily LP and its extensions) to the analysis of the strategic issues that shape businesses and the process of long-term, strategic planning in business organizations. Although no definitive answers emerged from the conference, some encouraging and stimulating ideas did.

The conference reinforced my belief that for many LP practitioners high-impact strategic applications are the shortest path from their current place in the shadows to the corporate sunlight. Hence, I am devoting this column and the next to some thoughts on LP and corporate planning.