Computing for Supply-Chain Optimization

Planning the flow of specialized materials and components through fabrication so schedules stay feasible under real constraints.

The planning problem

Building a complex machine depends on many specialized inputs arriving in the right order: high-temperature superconductor tape, precision-machined structures, specialty alloys, each with long lead times and limited suppliers. Supply-chain optimization plans these flows so that the build schedule stays feasible, buffers absorb variability, and bottlenecks are found before they stop work.

What is modeled

• Lead times and their variability for each input
• Dependencies: what must arrive before what
• Capacity limits at suppliers and fabrication steps
• Buffer inventory to absorb delays without idling downstream work
• Critical path: the sequence that sets the overall timeline

Optimization under uncertainty

Lead times are uncertain, so a schedule optimized for the expected case can be fragile: one late delivery cascades. Robust planning optimizes for feasibility across a range of scenarios, accepting some slack in exchange for resilience. This is the same logic as isotope logistics, plan for variability, not just the average.

def critical_path(tasks, durations, deps):
    finish = {}
    for t in topological_order(tasks, deps):
        start = max([finish[d] for d in deps[t]], default=0)
        finish[t] = start + durations[t]
    return max(finish.values())   # project length

Constraints, not just optimization

Much of the value is in feasibility checking: given all the constraints, is the target schedule even possible, and if not, which constraint is binding? Identifying the binding constraint tells planners where added capacity or an alternate supplier actually helps, versus where it makes no difference.

Kronos framing

With construction of the Hyperion breeder beginning in the second quarter of 2027 and a first-of-a-kind, next-of-a-kind, best-of-a-kind sequence planned, supply-chain modeling keeps the fabrication timeline honest and identifies where specialized inputs like REBCO tape gate the schedule. This is planning analysis and carries no cost figures.