1. Describe the problem that a large company such as HP might face in offering many product lines and options.

HP’s ground-breaking use of operations research not only enabled the high-tech giant to successfully transform its product portfolio program and return $500 million over a 3-year period to the bottom line, it also earned HP the coveted 2009 Edelman Award from INFORMS for outstanding achievement in operations research. “This is not the success of just one person or one team,” said Kathy Chou, Vice President of Worldwide Commercial Sales at HP, in accepting the award on behalf of the winning team. “It’s the success of many people across HP who made this a reality, beginning several years ago with mathematics and imagination and what it might do for HP.”