Faces of Technology
Optym-izing
Operations
Transportation—it’s a multitrillion-dollar industry
and a priceless necessity that keeps life moving.
Whether it’s a train that hauls lumber, a plane
ride to visit family or a truck that delivers
produce to a local grocery store, we count
on planes, trains and automobiles to transport
everything from people to valuable resources.
And it’s Dr. Ravi Ahuja’s vision to make all of it
run more efficiently.
Ahuja is the president and CEO of Optym, a
Gainesville-based firm that develops planning,
scheduling and data analytics software for
leading companies in the railroad, mining,
trucking and airline industries. Started in
2000 by Ahuja, Optym, which is derived from
“optimization,” helps companies do just
that—optimize transportation processes using
innovative technology platforms.
The idea first came about when Ahuja was
working on a research project with one of
the nation’s largest railroad operators. He
quickly realized that the company—which has
complex railway networks and thousands of
locomotives—was making all of its decisions
manually, from creating intricate train schedules
to managing the movement of railcars in its rail
yards.
“They were sitting around the table and making
decisions that weren’t properly supported or
analyzed,” said Ahuja. “So I thought, ‘What if I
built a software program that will enable them
to make better decisions?’”
And that’s exactly what he did with Optym,
though his company didn’t take flight
immediately.
“When I started the company, I had no clue
what I was getting into because I had no
industry experience. I just brought together
a bunch of doctoral students and said, ‘Let’s
start the company!’” said Ahuja. “But as the
company has grown, I have learned a lot, and
it’s been phenomenal.”
Now, nearly 15 years after launching Optym,
Ahuja and his team have developed entire
suites of software applications designed to do
everything from simulating railroad operations
to creating optimal schedules for airlines.
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florida.HIGH.TECH 2015
Ravindra Ahuja, Ph.D.
President and CEO | Optym, www.optym.com
Education: h.D. in Industrial & Management Engineering, Indian
P
Institute of Technology; M.S. in Industrial & Management
Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology; B.S. in
Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology
Company: ocated in Gainesville, Optym develops advanced
L
software products that help companies bring efficiency
to their transportation networks. Through optimization,
simulation and data analytics, Optym helps clients in
the railroad, airline, trucking, mining and retail industries
streamline operations and cut costs.
“What’s unique about our technology is that we have developed optimization
systems that effectively solve real-world problems,” said Ahuja. “It’s easy for a
company to say, ‘We want to optimize,’ but it’s very difficult to do. It’s certainly
not something that happened overnight for us. We have gone through a
learning process to determine what works and what doesn’t.”
Today, Optym’s technology has helped dozens of major companies streamline
their transportation operations. But with the transportation industry expected
to grow 3 to 4 percent annually, Ahuja intends to accomplish much more than
what he’s done so far.
“Our journey has just begun,” said Ahuja. “When people ask me what the vision
of our company is, I tell them, ‘We want to be for transportation what Google is
for search engines.’ Google is considered to be synonymous with innovation and
ingenuity. Similarly, when it comes to pioneering work in transportation efficiency
and scheduling, we want people to think of Optym.”