Analytics Magazine Executive Edge- Chuck Holland with UPS

The January/February issue of Analytics Magazine featured an article by Chuck Holland in Executive Edge

By Chuck Holland

Many of us have heard stories about near-death experiences. A person involved in a serious accident or a person gravely ill recovers and tells their account of leaving this Earth and walking toward the bright light, outstretched arms awaiting them. Miraculously, they come back to life – functioning, contributing and taking advantage of a second chance – and eager to tell their story.

A near-death experience is a good description of what happened to operations research (O.R.) – an advanced form of analytics sometimes referred to as “prescriptive analytics” – at UPS. In the mid-1990s, the O.R. group at UPS was walking toward the bright light, voices calling, ready to leave this world as we know it. At the time, UPS was looking at areas to reduce costs, and O.R. was, quite frankly, a cost bucket with no apparent return on investment despite being surrounded by plenty of problems ripe for O.R. approaches and algorithms.

to read full article please visit www.analytics-magazine.com