John Poppelaars

Supply Chain Wide Optimization at TNT Express

The introduction of Operations Research at TNT Express during the past seven years has significantly improved decision-making quality and resulted in 207 millions of Euros in cost savings. The Global Optimization Program initiative has led to the development of an entire suite of optimization solutions which assist operating units of TNT to improve their parcel delivery in road- and air networks.  Optimization is used to (re)design the networks and to efficiently use them. To create and deploy these solutions Communities of Practice have been established, containing internal and external subject matter experts. Further a unique two-year learning environment has been created, the GO-Academy, where employees of TNT Express are taught the principles, use and deployment of optimization techniques. As a result of these combined initiatives, O.R. is now an effective part of TNT Express' DNA.
 

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John Poppelaars
ORTEC Consulting Group

John Poppelaars is Director of Consulting for the ORTEC Consulting Group, a business division of ORTEC. John is a specialist in the field of logistics, supply chain optimization, and workforce planning and scheduling, and a passionate proponent of OR as a key business enabler. Throughout his 22 year career, he has applied the business maxim of 'improving decision-making quality' to numerous projects across a myriad of industries in order to support clients to optimize their businesses with the very latest OR techniques.

John works actively to stimulate public awareness about the added value of mathematics and operations research and the way in which their application can benefit both business and society. This dedication is panned out in his role as chairman of the Dutch Operations Research Society (NGB). He also participated in projects to support the World Food Program and the North Star Alliance with his optimization knowledge. John has created a blog titled, 'OR at Work', where he writes about the practical application of OR in business.

John earned a Master's degree in Econometrics from the Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands and was member of the TNT team that won the INFORMS Edelman Award 2012.