OARS: An order analysis and rescheduling system

This article describes an order assessment and scheduling system that was developed as an optimization-based decision support system for acceptance/rejection and management of orders in the IBM Austin Printed Wiring Board Plant. The need for an online system that could provide a rapid assessment of a customer enquiry and provide a quotation was a result of the changing business environment that needed to accommodate responsively new external customers in addition to its traditional captive market. The new environment emphasized technical marketing, requiring greater integration between engineering and manufacturing. The new system supports the information development tasks and decision issues in a greatly expanded market with proper division of tasks and degrees of decision autonomy.