Empowering financial tradeoff with joint financial and supply chain planning models

The concept behind improved enterprise systems is the overall integration of its whole functionality through optimised financial links. This paper addresses the implementation of financial cross functional links through the integration of production scheduling and planning with financial management in a modelling framework aimed at chemical process industries. Altogether models must play a more active role, recommending besides schedules and plans, the optimal budgetary decisions for each new scenario. The platform built combines a deterministic cash flow management model with a MILP formulation of process operation. The advantages of this approach are highlighted through case studies.