An industrial application of data-driven modeling to a solid-state polymerization process is presented, The goal is to predict the exit IV (intrinsic viscosity) given a set of independent variables. The problem is interesting in that it involves a distributed parameter system with numerous inputs and many hours of time delays. High-fidelity delay-free predictions allow for the adjustment of independent variables for improved quality control. The problem is analyzed from the increasingly popular six sigma perspective for a comparative assessment between modeling, advanced control, and optimization and six sigma.