Syngenta Uses a Cover Optimizer to Determine Production Volumes for Its European Seed Supply Chain

Syngenta’s European seed business relies on Syngenta’s supply chain to supply seed products to various European markets, which generated more than $1.2 billion in revenues in 2013. The seed supply chain is, however, exposed to a high level of uncertainty on both the demand and supply sides. Determining optimal production volumes in a highly volatile environment and more than a year prior to the sales period is a complex business decision that can significantly affect the company’s profitability through lost sales and unsold supply. To better handle the production-volume planning, Syngenta developed a planning tool that determines optimal production volumes by considering the various levels of uncertainty. In this paper, we discuss this tool, its impact, and integration into Syngenta’s planning process and technical design. In 2013, its first year in use, the production optimization tool avoided approximately $1.5 million in supply discards and led Syngenta to revise its approach to handling uncertainty in its supply-chain planning.