Arkieva designer and supplier of a full suite of Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) software tools announced the appointment of Dr. Ken Fordyce to the position of solutions director, semiconductor and analytics.
Fordyce is joining the Arkieva team after a 36 year career with IBM, including being part of the team which developed and implemented the IBM Operational Framework for Supply Chain Planning – (OPS). The technical and business contribution of OPS was recognized by IBM with an Outstanding Innovation award and INFORMS in the Edelman Competition for Innovative Applications, setting a standard for industrial strength optimization.
He received similar recognition for one of the first real-time dispatch systems (LMS) developed which incorporated pioneering work in data science (AAAI-90). Both OPS and LMS remain in daily use. In addition to his IBM work he has been an adjunct faculty member at Columbia University and active member of INFORMS and MASM.
His expertise in industrial strength optimization, analytics and data science, semiconductor based packaged goods, and overall skills in planning and scheduling demand supply networks from health care to food will further strengthen Arkieva’s leadership in supply chain software and services. Additionally, his close relationships with experts in these areas at major universities on three continents will enable Arkieva to bring focused attention to challenges faced by both existing and future client engagements.
Fordyce is a frequent speaker and lecturer on a wide variety of advanced supply chain planning and forecasting subjects, and is an expert in the area of semiconductor supply chain management. He is widely published in a number of journals and has recently authored the book "The Semiconductor Supply Chain - Enterprise-Wide Planning Challenges".
“We are extremely pleased to have Ken join our team,” said Sujit Singh, COO of Arkieva. “His experience and knowledge are a welcome addition that will directly support some new marketing and technology initiatives. Ken will help us with the go to market template on the Semiconductor industry as well as optimization templates for other industries such as pharmaceutical. He will also extend our analytics software and services.”
Fordyce is a 1976 graduate of Union College where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics. He also received his MS in operations research and a PhD in Administrative and Engineering Systems from the same university.