PRADO Series - Next talks

Hello OR-enthusiast,

Here is the title and abstract of our talk next week:

🚀 Optimizing pharmacy procurement with substitution of drugs

🗓 Friday, 28th March | 13:00 CET🎤 Speaker: Christian Ruf

💡 Abstract
Pharmacies, when handing out prescription drugs to their customers, can substitute the prescribed drug for an equivalent drug from another manufacturer, and in some cases, they may take the prescribed quantity out of a larger package.

Pharmacies have supply agreements with graduated prices. Additionally, there is a marketplace where wholesalers (~15) offer drugs with certain expiry dates at certain prices in limited quantities. The expiry dates lead to large price fluctuations.

In this case, the client runs 16 pharmacies and has a supply agreement with his main supplier. At the end of each month, the main supplier evaluates the discount level depending on the procurement volume in that month (using a step function). We aim to generate savings by intelligently selecting among the available procurement options.

🔎 Approach
We simplify the problem by applying a two-phase approach. In the first 3 weeks of each month, we procure from the main supplier to reach the highest possible discount level. In the last week of the month, we know the discount level with certainty and start shopping on the marketplace. We use a mathematical optimization model to determine the best procurement quantities for each pharmacy.

📊 Results & conclusions
We have yet to determine the achieved savings. Given the complexity, we know that a human would have to spend a lot of time identifying good savings opportunities.

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Furthermore, you can have a preview of the next months:

🔹 April 25th | 🎤 Christian Pfeiffer (Planningio)
From Production to Bottling: Integrated Planning Solutions for the Beverage Industry
🍾 Learn how end-to-end optimization can streamline production and bottling in the beverage industry, increasing efficiency and reducing costs.

🔹 May 16th (Note: Not the last Friday of the month!) | 🎤 Vassilios Yfantis (Gurobi)
Scaling Optimization: From a Single Laptop to Enterprise Solutions (Title TBC)
🏢📊 Explore how solver implementations evolve from personal models to large-scale enterprise solutions, addressing architecture, performance, and integration challenges.

🔹 June 27th | 🎤 Discussion Table & Q&A with OR Freelancers
💼 Featuring Cristina Radu, Tim Varelmann, and Goran Molnar
🔎 A deep dive into the realities of OR freelancing – from technical challenges to client projects and business strategies. Prepare your questions!

🔹 July 25th | 🎤 Fred Gardi
Hexaly: A New Kind of Global Optimization Solver
🔍 Discover Hexaly, an innovative approach to global optimization, and how it differentiates from traditional solvers.

Thank you for your participation and see you there next week!