From the very beginning of the project, EURODECISION’s experts demonstrated a genuine ability to listen. They didn’t try to explain my problem to me or sell me a tool already used elsewhere. They were committed to designing a relevant and effective tool that meets our needs based on our reality.Emmanuel GUIMONTSenior Planning Director - DANONE CANADA
I really appreciated EURODECISION’s attitude, ‘serious without taking themselves too seriously,’ in line with what I wanted to do but also with Danone’s values. In our discussions, I could also sense passion, both for the beauty of the mathematical tool and for the desire to help us solve our problem.Emmanuel GUIMONTSenior Planning Director - DANONE CANADA
At its Boucherville plant in Quebec, Danone Canada produces 130,000 tonnes of yogurt each year. For its fruit yogurt range, the plant sources jams from a supplier that manufactures the required quantities of each reference on demand.
Delivered in large stainless steel containers that connect directly to yogurt manufacturing machines, the use of these jams imposes a large number of storage and usage constraints (expiration date, food safety standards, maximum number of container “connections”…) that vary depending on the references. These are also production plan constraints (order scheduling, equipment specifications, etc.). Leftover jams that do not meet these constraints constitute raw material waste and must be returned to the supplier, who is responsible for their disposal.
Highly committed to reducing food waste and striving for economic efficiency through minimizing waste, Danone Canada set itself the goal of reducing jam losses as much as possible. Since the group’s tools only partially addressed this issue specific to its Boucherville plant, the industrial team wanted to equip itself with a custom solution that would allow it to optimize jam orders placed with its supplier. EURODECISION’s ability to understand business needs and its scientific approach, as an expert in decision mathematics and artificial intelligence, convinced the company to entrust this mandate to them.
After an initial study-prototyping phase to precisely identify the context and challenges related to jam management, the optimization solution design phase began. Throughout the project, EURODECISION experts worked closely with the team responsible for raw materials procurement to ensure that the business logic embedded in the algorithm aligned with operational reality. This involvement of business teams at each stage of tool configuration fostered their buy-in to the project.
The tool implemented by EURODECISION models and optimizes jam orders for the next four weeks. Based on needs and available inventory, it generates weekly manufacturing orders for each reference and sends them to the supplier. The solution also provides a projection of losses over the period.
Within a few months of use, jam losses were cut in half, a result considered very positive by Danone Canada. Beyond this economic improvement, the jam ordering process also became more efficient, and teams can now spend more time on higher value-added tasks such as analyzing residual jam losses, formulating process improvement proposals, or taking on new responsibilities.
In the long term, the planning department plans to use the tool more extensively: the optimal jam inventory usage plan proposed by the EURODECISION solution could be transmitted to production teams. Hence, they can incorporate it into their production plans and further reduce losses.
