Maximizing Profit vs. Minimizing Cost In Corrugator Scheduling
Abstract: It is almost always that corrugator schedulers, human or automated, focus on reducing the production cost as means of increasing the profit. Although “profit = revenue – cost”, revenue is seldom attended to in attempting to increase the profit. The contention of this white paper is that overlooking the revenue term can result in schedules that fall short of the highest attainable profit. A corrugator schedule that brings cost to a minimum does not necessarily bring profit to a maximum. Consequently, minimizing the corrugation cost may cause the plant to lose tangible profit. To maximize profit, one should maximize the profit per se; not just minimize the cost or any other correlate of the profit.
 

The Enlightened Planner Dilemma
Abstract: In corrugator scheduling, a knowledgeable planner understands that optimizing scheduling on maximum profit and profit rate is in the best interest of the plant. Meanwhile, planners are usually evaluated on what appear to be objective measures such as trim ratio, average width, and upgrades. The planner recognizes that minimizing the trim ratio and maximizing the utilization can lead to missing an attainable higher profit. What should the planner do? Should he do what is best for the plant at the risk of being misjudged, or should he just appease his boss by optimizing scheduling on trim ratio and average width? We propose an approach where the planner does what is best for the plant and get recognized for it.
 

Profit maximization in Corrugator Scheduling
Abstract: Maximum profit (max-P) and maximum profit rate (max-PR) are two prominent optimization criteria for corrugator Scheduling because they contribute directly into the main economic objective of a plant. The other commonly used optimization criteria do not necessarily result in schedules that realize maximum profit or maximum profit rate. Using max-P and max-PR criteria require that certain revenue elements be carefully identified. This white paper explores the requirements of applying the max-P and the max-PR criteria to corrugator scheduling.