Book
Applied Higher Order Functions
Jiri Knesl's book on the algorithms we build with, in hardback.
See the bookSoftware that makes your everyday decisions better than a spreadsheet does
Your team decides things like which crew takes which job, which order to accept or what price to quote hundreds of times a month, usually in a spreadsheet. Being a few per cent off each time adds up to a lot of money. We build software that gives a better answer. It works on your data, fits into your team's daily work, and a person can always change its answer.
01
Predict
What is going to happen before it shows up in the numbers?
When it goes wrong
- A fixed-price project drifts into a loss, and the report tells you when it is too late to act.
- A machine or an account fails without warning, and you pay for it as an emergency.
02
Allocate
Where should limited people and money go to earn the most?
When it goes wrong
- Your best people are spread over too much work, and the job that matters most ships late.
- Maintenance budget is spread evenly, whatever the risk in each place.
03
Schedule
In what order, and on which machine or crew, should the work run?
When it goes wrong
- The plan works on paper and breaks the first time something goes differently.
- One late job pushes back every promise made after it.
04
Select
Which of these should we take on, and which should we turn down?
When it goes wrong
- You accept an attractive order and it eats the capacity two better ones needed.
- You pick a supplier on price, and the full cost turns up later.
05
Coordinate
Is the work delivering what the plan promised?
When it goes wrong
- Delivery, cost and results sit in separate systems, so you see the risk only afterwards.
- One team finds out late that it was waiting on another.
06
Verify
Can we trust this logic where a mistake is expensive or unsafe?
When it goes wrong
- A pricing or eligibility rule has an edge case the tests never reached.
- A change to critical code ships, and you hope the tests covered everything.
Where we have built it already
Where it usually pays
Getting people and equipment to the work
Workforce scheduling, shift planning, dispatch, routing, field-service allocation, fleet utilisation, capacity planning, maintenance scheduling.
Deciding what to accept and what to charge
Quoting, order acceptance, contract selection, delivery promises, pricing when you don't yet know the cost, which projects come first, which work to decline.
Buying before you know what you need
Stock and spare parts, buying and supplier choice, working capital, receivables, warranty and claims recovery.
It pays most in companies with a lot of operations and few analysts, like field and industrial services, maintenance, inspection, logistics and fleets, ports, e-fuel plants, laboratories, waste, specialised distribution, and software firms with a service team.
How we measure the gain
First we work out the gain on your own history. Then we measure it live against the way you decide today, so the number you show your board comes from your own business.
What we build them from
We've used every one of these in paid work.
Mathematical optimisation
Finds the best schedule or allocation for the goal you set, within the limits you work under.
Simulation
Runs a plan through the disruptions it will meet before you commit to it.
Forecasting
Uses your history to forecast what comes next, and tells you how far off the forecast might be.
AI and machine learning
Machine learning when you have enough data for it. We measure it the same way as the other methods.
Formal methods
We prove that critical logic does what it should, with Rainbow, our open-source theorem prover.
Formal methods
Rainbow, for the logic that has to be right
Our open-source theorem prover, with kernel-checked theorems about all 222 algorithms in our catalogue.
See RainbowQuestions about the decisions
Do you know my industry?
We learn it fast, usually within the first two weeks. The maths behind scheduling, pricing or stock is much the same from one industry to the next.
How do I tell whether my problem fits?
If your business makes the same choice again and again, and a wrong answer costs money or time, it fits. Tell us about it, and we work out what a better answer could be worth.
Tell us which decision costs you most
Jiri or Ivo will reply and tell you what a better way could be worth. Talking to us costs nothing.
Who you deal with
One partner is responsible for your project from the first call to the running system. Your work stays confidential.
