Edelman Gala

Recognizing Distinction in Applications of Analytics, Operations Research, and the Management Sciences

Monday, April 15, 7-10pm

The Edelman Gala awards five INFORMS level prizes over the course of this elegant evening. The Franz Edelman Award, emphasizing beneficial impact; the INFORMS Prize, emphasizing long-term, multi-project success; the Daniel H. Wagner Prize, emphasizing innovative methods and clear exposition; and the UPS George D. Smith Prize, emphasizing effective academic preparation; and INFORMS newest practice-focused award, the Early Career Practitioner Award will be awarded at this elegant dinner. Admission to the gala and banquet is included in your full conference registration fee. The dinner and wine service begin at 7pm, followed by the awards ceremony.

Since 1972, INFORMS and the OR/MS and analytics community have celebrated and honored the very best in applied work in business or government with the annual Franz Edelman Award Competition. 2024 marks the 54th anniversary of this outstanding and rigorous competition. Since 2006, we have marked this special occasion with the Edelman Gala, an evening filled with fun, excitement, and pride for the entire community.

In order to make this event memorable for attendees, those who view it later online, and executives who may not be as familiar with the transformative power of O.R. and analytics, we need the help of industry supporters like you. Pledge to be a sponsor of this outstanding event. Opportunities are available to be a general sponsor at different monetary levels. Each level offers a special thank you for your support. For details, please visit the Sponsorship page.

The finalists for the 2024 Edelman Award include:

ALDI SÜD Germany. The German organization has reshaped its national special buys strategy toward a unified pathway for managing a key product area. This method utilizes data-driven techniques, proprietary software and collective intelligence resulting in significant annual savings in the three-digit million range with a revenue of several billion euros in Germany. This strategy enhanced competitiveness, boosted profitability and reestablished their leading position in the discount market in Germany. The strategy led to significant cost savings, improved employee and customer satisfaction, and reduced waste.

American Airlines. Leveraging optimization and AI techniques, American Airlines has developed the Hub Efficiency Analytics Tool (HEAT), an industry-leading technology that helps the airline more effectively manage irregular operations during severe weather. HEAT dynamically adjusts the timings of flight departures in a coordinated fashion to ensure that passengers, crew members and aircraft keep moving when weather threatens to disrupt the flight operation. Since its deployment in 2022, HEAT has been used more than 100 times during summer months at the airline’s largest hub airports and prevented nearly 1,000 flight cancellations across the network.

McDonald’s China. McDonald’s China, the second-largest and fastest-growing market of McDonald’s, collaborates with Xiahui Logistics and Optimization Analytics Technology (OAT) to use O.R. tools for supply chain optimization. Since 2022, this effort has saved $63.75 million in supply chain investments and $8.9 million in annual transportation costs. Going forward, these tools will be fully deployed in supply chain and data platforms for continuous network optimization and comprehensive inventory planning. This strategic move supports McDonald’s China’s goal of reaching 10,000 restaurants by 2028, underscoring the supply chain’s crucial role in sustainable business growth. 

Molslinjen. Halfspace and Molslinjen partnered to develop and operate a bespoke forecasting and revenue management toolbox for data-driven operation of ferries in Denmark. The system allows for better and faster packing of vehicles in the cargo area and increasing utilization while reducing delays, fuel costs and emissions. The dynamic pricing engine for revenue management allows better set prices based on contextual information and regulatory constraints. The program was rolled out operationally in 2020 and has resulted in up to $3.2 million in yearly savings. It has also contributed to a 3% reduction in fuel costs and emissions. 

Tata Steel Limited. Tata Steel India has digitally transformed the continuous steel annealing operation in its most value-added product stream using predictive control based on advanced analytics and optimization. Developed in collaboration with IIT Bombay, this solution transformed the plant operation from its decades-old practice of manual control to automated optimal control. Systematic adoption has reduced fuel consumption and CO2 emission by 8% per ton of steel (equivalent annual savings of $2.5 million and 10,000 tons of CO2) in addition to 20% improvement in premium product quality, helping retain customers and acquire new business.

Transvision. CQM and Geodan have developed an analytics solution to improve mobility for elderly and disabled citizens in the Netherlands. These citizens are eligible for subsidized taxi rides executed by Transvision. The day-to-day planning of 3,000 to 15,000 long-distance rides has been streamlined using this analytics solution that combines the rides. It was put into practice in 2020 and there was an obvious increase in punctuality and reduced ride times. This resulted in 50% improvement in passenger satisfaction. Since its inception, 75 million driving kilometers or 7,500 metric tons of CO2 emissions have been saved.