{"693615":{"#nid":"693615","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Andre Calmon\u2019s Award-Winning Research Helps Companies Keep Products Where They\u2019re Needed Most","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBefore a stick of deodorant reaches a consumer\u0027s bathroom counter, it moves through a complex supply chain. Raw materials and packaging components are sourced, assembled into a finished product, and shipped through warehouses and distribution centers before finally reaching a store shelf.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt each step, companies must decide how much extra inventory to keep. A product can be available, in stock, and ready to ship, yet still be out of reach when customers need it most. In today\u0027s interconnected supply chains, even a small disruption can cascade across networks, leading to empty shelves or production delays.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cCompanies can have plenty of inventory and still run out of products because they are in the wrong place,\u201d explained \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/directory\/faculty\/calmon\/index.html?_gl=1*amskqq*_up*MQ..*_ga*Mzc2NjA0ODA4LjE3OTMyOTEzMzI.*_ga_8XJDVR2ZKP*czE3OTMyOTEzMzEkbzEkZzEkdDE3OTMyOTEzMzMkajU4JGwwJGgxNTE3MjcyOTA0\u0022\u003EAndre Calmon\u003C\/a\u003E, associate professor of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/academics-research\/operations-management\/index.html?_gl=1*1d7r7rz*_up*MQ..*_ga*Mzc2NjA0ODA4LjE3OTMyOTEzMzI.*_ga_8XJDVR2ZKP*czE3OTMyOTEzMzEkbzEkZzEkdDE3OTMyOTEzNTAkajQxJGwwJGgxNTE3MjcyOTA0\u0022\u003Eoperations management\u003C\/a\u003E at Georgia Tech\u2019s Scheller College of Business. \u201cOur research helps companies decide where to keep extra inventory so they can meet demand without tying up unnecessary money in products sitting on shelves.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECalmon and his co-authors, Philippe Blaettchen, Georgina Hall, and Mohit Tawarmalani received the 2026 INFORMS Computing Society Harvey J. Greenberg Research Award for their paper, \u201c\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pubsonline.informs.org\/doi\/10.1287\/mnsc.2025.03155\u0022\u003EFrom Trees to Treewidth: Inventory Management in Complex Supply Chain Networks\u003C\/a\u003E.\u201d The award recognizes outstanding research at the intersection of operations research and computer science.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA Faster Route to Better Inventory Decisions\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor decades, major companies like Procter \u0026amp; Gamble, Intel, HP, and Boston Scientific have used a planning framework called the Guaranteed Service Model (GSM) to decide where inventory should be stored across a supply chain. The goal is simple: keep products available when customers need them while minimizing inventory costs.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECalmon and his co-authors developed a new mathematical method that makes those decisions much faster.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur main contribution is a fundamental theoretical advance,\u201d Calmon said. \u201cWe developed the first exact method for the Guaranteed Service Model whose computing time is tied to a measure of network structure called treewidth.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile the underlying mathematics are complex, the core idea is surprisingly intuitive. Rather than analyzing an entire supply chain at once, the method breaks a large network into smaller, overlapping sections. Researchers can solve those sections more efficiently and then combine them into a single optimal plan. As a result, the structure of a supply chain can matter more than its overall size when determining how quickly the problem can be solved.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe result is a dramatically faster way to identify the best inventory strategy.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn tests involving 38 real-world supply chains, the researchers found optimal inventory plans for every case they studied. Median computing time dropped from about nine-and-a-half minutes using the previous leading method to just 14 seconds. The new approach also solved large supply chain problems that existing methods could not complete.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor businesses, that speed could make it easier to prepare for disruptions before they happen.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cA company could test what happens if demand doubles in one region or if a supplier\u2019s shipments take two weeks longer than expected,\u201d Calmon said. \u201cBecause our method finds the best plan quickly, companies can explore more scenarios before a disruption and update their plans as conditions change.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat capability could be especially valuable during disruptive events like pandemics, natural disasters, geopolitical disruptions, or sudden changes in demand. By evaluating more possibilities in less time, companies may be able to maintain product availability while reducing excess inventory and waste.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Future of Supply Chain Research\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECalmon\u0027s award-winning research grew from a question he once considered \u0022unsolvable\u0022 as a doctoral student. Today, that same curiosity continues to guide his work. Looking ahead, he is particularly excited about applying his planning and optimization research to circular supply chains that recover, reuse, and recycle products and materials.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen products and materials re-enter a supply chain, inventory planning becomes more complicated,\u201d he said. \u201cHelping companies manage those flows could make circular business models more practical. \u0026nbsp;I hope to help build planning tools that let companies tackle larger supply chains and test more possibilities at the speed their businesses require.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pubsonline.informs.org\/doi\/10.1287\/mnsc.2025.03155\u0022\u003ERead More: \u201cTrees to Treewidth\u201d\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/academics-research\/operations-management\/index.html?_gl=1*1d7r7rz*_up*MQ..*_ga*Mzc2NjA0ODA4LjE3OTMyOTEzMzI.*_ga_8XJDVR2ZKP*czE3OTMyOTEzMzEkbzEkZzEkdDE3OTMyOTEzNTAkajQxJGwwJGgxNTE3MjcyOTA0\u0022\u003ELearn More: Operations Management\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAward-winning research by Andre Calmon could help companies place inventory more strategically across complex supply chains, reducing costs, and improving product availability.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Award-winning research by Andre Calmon could help companies place inventory more strategically across complex supply chains."}],"uid":"36730","created_gmt":"2026-10-29 16:26:31","changed_gmt":"2026-10-29 16:32:32","author":"klowe36","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-10-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-10-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681590":{"id":"681590","type":"image","title":"Andre Calmon, associate professor of operations management","body":null,"created":"1793291015","gmt_created":"2026-10-29 16:23:35","changed":"1793291088","gmt_changed":"2026-10-29 16:24:48","alt":"Andre Calmon, associate professor of operations management, smiles wearing a dark suit jacket and white collared shirt.","file":{"fid":"266012","name":"andre-calmon.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/10\/29\/andre-calmon.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/10\/29\/andre-calmon.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":226747,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/10\/29\/andre-calmon.jpg?itok=nw4FMAe7"}}},"media_ids":["681590"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/news\/2026\/andre-calmons-research-helps-companies-keep-products-where-theyre-needed.html","title":"Read More"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"139","name":"Business"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["kristin.lowe@scheller.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}