CAST is a powerful, PC-based application used for global supply chain modelling, network design and optimisation. With over 350 licences and 1,200 trained users, our clients typically achieve a 10-15% saving on their supply chain costs through the application of network optimisation. 

CAST users are supported by experienced, local supply chain professionals based in North America, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa.   

Perfect for Manufacturers and Retailers 

Our manufacturing clients have been using CAST to evaluate the cost benefits of moving manufacturing from the US and Western Europe to low-cost manufacturing bases in Asia and Eastern Europe. Globalisation brings greater complexity, thereby raising the need for software that can consider all components of the supply chain. Manufacturers are not only looking at developing markets such as India and China as a source for low-cost manufacturing, but also as domestic consumer markets for their products. 

The world's most progressive retailers deploy CAST to identify optimal distribution infrastructures for their national supply chain networks, particularly as they expand product ranges, store configurations and respond to changing demands and costs. Retailers are also using CAST to design supply chains for overseas market expansion, home delivery networks and to evaluate alternative and collaborative sourcing strategies.

CAST Functionality

Map Displays: CAST uses advanced GIS mapping functionality to visualise and validate the supply chain, thereby enhancing visibility and understanding of supply and demand data. 

Centre of gravity modelling: Used to identify new warehouse locations and warehouse configurations given supply and demand volumes by location.

Service Lead Time Analysis: Used to consider service levels and transport lead-times across global road networks for each warehouse configuration tested.

Cost modelling and optimisation: CAST uniquely offers two solving approaches, a cost minimising heuristic and a Mixed Integer Programming Optimiser (MIPO). Both are used to evaluate and identify the “preferred” or optimal supply chain configuration and to calculate the Total Cost to Market for each customer product group record.

Carbon Emissions Modelling and Optimisation: CAST-CO2 offers a comprehensive approach, at the supply chain design stage, that enables companies to look at a range of supply chain strategies and configurations that optimise both cost and carbon emissions.

Reporting:  The Report Generator permits viewing of detailed PDF reports, customised exporting of results into Microsoft Excel, Access or CSV file format and interrogation of unit costs by supply chain component for each scenario in the Scenario Comparison Browser.