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In a recent Supply Chain Management Review article, the work of Dr. María Jesús Sáenz is highlighted through a project that tackled the challenge of optimizing an end-to-end supply chain for a global consumer goods company. The company’s traditional planning model—based on mixed-integer programming—took nearly two hours to compute a full production and distribution plan, making it difficult to respond to real-time changes such as demand fluctuations or material shortages. Dr. Sáenz and her team recognized that this lack of agility was a barrier to efficiency and competitiveness, particularly in today’s volatile global markets. Under Dr. Sáenz’s direction, the research team redesigned the process using a hybrid meta-heuristic approach that combined Genetic Algorithms (GA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). By breaking down the overall planning task into smaller, more manageable segments, they were able to generate high-quality, near-optimal plans in a fraction of the original computation time—reducing the process from hours to mere minutes. This demonstrated how advanced analytical methods can dramatically improve responsiveness and performance across a company’s entire supply chain. More broadly, Dr. Sáenz’s work underscores that end-to-end optimization is not just a technical challenge but a strategic one. She advocates for supply chains that are not only data-driven but also interconnected across all functions—from sourcing to delivery—so that decisions align with the organization’s overall objectives. Her approach combines operational excellence with digital innovation, showing how companies can build more agile, resilient, and intelligent supply networks capable of thriving amid constant disruption. The SCM thesis Smarter, Faster, Leaner: Optimizing the End-to-End Supply Chain was authored by Javiera Arancibia and Fernanda Esparza and supervised by Dr. María Jesús Sáenz and Dr. Jaime Macías Aguayo. Dr. María Jesús Sáenz is available to speak with reporters regarding this important research simply click on her icon now to arrange an interview today.
