Supply Chain-Wide Optimization at TNT Express

The Problem 

TNT Express N.V. is one of the world’s leading business-to-business express delivery companies.  Every week, 4.7 million parcels, documents, and pieces of freight have to be transported to over 200 companies while maintaining strict service requirements.  Until a few years ago, this challenge was addressed without any mathematical support in decision making.  In 2005, TNT leaders realized that to remain competitive, more fact-based decision making was required, which led to the introduction of the Global Optimization (GO) program.
 

The Analytics Solution

The GO program enabled TNT Express to organize its operations in a better and smarter way.  In the past seven years, TNT developed a portfolio of optimization solutions.  These solutions drew on the GO program principles to (1) match optimization complexity with the maturity level of optimization knowledge and data quality to ensure full alignment with expectations; (2) involve experts and decision makers in development of the optimization solutions through “communities of practice,” and (3) effectively educate decision makers in using optimization through our newly developed GO Academy. 
 

The Value 

Over the period 2008-2011, more than 207 million Euros in savings were realized utilizing the GO program Through the GO Academy, more than 150 TNT senior managers, without being mathematicians, now recognize optimization opportunities and know which tools to solve them.