INFORMS Prize Past Winners 2008 Winner General Electric Global Research Center  GE Research’s Risk & Value Management Lab and the Computing & Decision Sciences organization have created an impressive track record of applying Operations Research methods throughout many distinctive business areas at GE, driving significant, sustained value for the company.  By employing an excellent mix of OR technologies against a wide range of business problems, the Lab has demonstrated world-class abilities in identifying opportunities, enrolling management, delivering solutions, and sustaining Operations Research capabilities over a prolonged period of time.. The award was presented by Glenn Wegryn, Committee Chair and Cynthia Barnhart, 2008 INFORMS President in April, 2008.   2006 Winner Schneider National, Inc. The INFORMS Prize is awarded to the Engineering and Research Department at Schneider National for its demonstrated history of using OR/MS to provide benefits at strategic, tactical, and operational levels. The OR/MS function has been an important, contributing part of Schneider’s business for over 25 years, including applications in shipment and driver planning, revenue management, dedicated fleet management and operational decision support. These OR/MS applications have improved annual earnings by over $10 million at Schneider. This represents an outstanding example of OR/MS as an integrated part of a business’ decision-making capability. The award was presented by Glenn Wegryn, Committee Chair and Mark Daskin, 2006 INFORMS President in November, 2006. 2005 Winner Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. The INFORMS Prize is awarded to Air Products for its demonstrated history of using OR/MS to provide benefits at strategic, tactical, and operational levels. The OR/MS function has been an important, contributing part of Air Products for over 35 years. Specific OR/MS applications include innovative dynamic pricing decision models, traditional applications of network designs and optimization, and tactical planning models for inventory and delivery resource optimization. OR/MS applications have contributed to an estimated cost savings of $5-8 million annually and more than $75 million cumulatively over the past decade. The award was presented by Kyle Cattani, Committee Chair and Richard Larson, 2005 INFORMS President in November, 2005. 2004 Winner Procter & Gamble The INFORMS Prize is awarded to The Procter & Gamble Company for its integration of OR/MS principles into the decision making structure of the firm, to tackle issues such as global manufacturing site location and sourcing, inventory management, supply chain design, and consumer behavior analysis. Cost savings have been pronounced, helping P&G to grow and manage the complexity of a $50 billion organization operating in 80 countries. P&G is recognized for the way OR/MS principles permeate efforts to understand how products compete and can best be supplied in local markets around the world. The award was presented by Glen Schmidt, Committee Chair and Michael Rothkopf, 2004 INFORMS President in October 2004. 2003 Winner UPS Awarded to UPS for its sustained use of operations research and management science technologies throughout its organization. Operations research techniques have been instrumental since the 1950s in UPS’s successful growth to the $32 billion company that it is today. UPS has used operations research to structure its organization of 360,000 people, 1,800 facilities, 90,000 vehicles, and 580 aircraft, and to facilitate the daily decisions that guarantee the prompt delivery of 10,000,000 parcels each day. Managerial decision making at UPS is indeed inextricably linked with operations research methodologies, which are used not just by technical operations research staff, but by every manager. Moreover, UPS has gone beyond the mere implementation of existing operations research technology to the development of original research, which has advanced the forefront of operations research. While providing myriad cost savings, operations research is indeed a strategic lynchpin and a significant source of competitive advantage for UPS. We salute UPS for its success, and its innovative use and development of operations research. The award was presented by James Bradley, Committee Chair and Thomas M. Cook, 2003 INFORMS President in October 2003. 2002 Winner Hewlett-Packard Awarded to Hewlett-Packard for its extensive use of Operations Research and Management Science technologies across its value chain. Through partnership between Hewlett-Packard's Strategic Planning and Modeling group and the business divisions, Hewlett-Packard has diffused modeling innovations throughout the entire organization. These rigorous modeling and analytical methods have saved Hewlett-Packard and its supply chain partners hundreds of millions of dollars while increasing their competitive advantage. Beyond the business achievements, Hewlett-Packard has shared its modeling thought leadership and application success stories through articles and case studies read extensively within the INFORMS community. We salute Hewlett-Packard, both for its success and for its role as thought-leading corporate citizenship. The award was presented by Eric Johnson, Committee Chair and Michael Trick, 2002 INFORMS President in November 2002. 1999 Winner IBM Awarded "for its innovative and effective use of operations research and management science (OR/MS) methodology throughout the corporation. Furthermore, world-class research in OR/MS and the ability to apply the results to solve business problems have further enhanced IBM's competitive edge and reputation. The widespread application of OR/MS studies, models and software has resulted in significant performance improvements and cost savings to multiple IBM organizations, such as the Technology Group, the Personal Systems Group, the Server Group, and Global Services. Indeed, operations research at IBM has evolved to a core competence, used on a continuous basis to address numerous strategic and tactical problems." The award was presented by Hanan Luss, Committee Chair and Thomas L. Magnanti, 1999 INFORMS President in November 1999. 1998 Winner Lucent Technologies For its pervasive and successful use of operations research throughout its business, both at the operational and the strategic levels of the corporate enterprise. This success required the contributions of operations research professionals, w1ho created solutions; it required the trust of the internal customers, who implemented the solutions; and it required good management to bring the two together. The beneficiaries are Lucent's customers, who receive better products, Lucent's stockholders, who profit from better earnings, and Lucent's employees, who benefit from the company's improved status. All share in the INFORMS Prize as it reflects Lucent's success. 1997 Winner Merrill Lynch Private Client Group For wide-ranging development and application of operations research and management science (OR/MS) methodology to its decision making. These efforts have been pivotal in helping fulfill Private Client Group's vision as the premier, planning-based financial management firm of choice. The pervasive incorporation of OR/MS all the way to fundamental business strategies makes Merrill Lynch Private Client Group a role model exemplifying the value of OR/MS as an integral part of business practice. 1996 Winner Pfizer Inc Awarded for wide range development and application of Operations Research and Management Science (OR/MS) methodologies in its organizational decision making and in fulfilling its vision of improving quality of life by being the best provider of solutions for health care needs. The pervasive integration of OR/MS into the Pfizer corporate culture at all levels of management makes it a role model exemplifying the value of OR/MS as a strategic and integral part of business practice. 1995 Winner Bellcore Awarded for wide range application and development of Operations Research and Management Science (OR/MS) in its internal management and in fulfilling its vision as a leading provider of communications software and consulting services based on world-class research. The exemplary and pervasive integration of OR/MS into the Bellcore corporate culture at all levels of management makes it a role model exemplifying the value of OR/MS as an integral part of business practice. 1994 Winner AT&T* Awarded for their pioneering efforts in the development and application of Operations Research, spanning a remarkable number of decision contexts and over a great many years, and for exemplifying the value of Operations Research as an integral part of business practice. US West Technologies* In recognition of the impact that operations research is having on the company’s reengineering of its operations, strategic thinking, competitiveness in designing telecommunications networks, and tactics for moving into business areas. 1993 Winner New York City’s Office of Management and Budget* For their demonstrated effectiveness in applying Operations Research for the evaluation of costs of providing important city services, the Office of Management and Budget of the City of New York has made Operations Research an integral part of the budget planning process and of evaluating the City’s public services. United Airlines* 1992 Winner San Miguel Corporation* 1991 Winner American Airlines* Federal Express* *From 1991 through 1994 the INFORMS Prize was known as the ORSA Prize. Return to main INFORMS Prize Page

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