Management of logistics distribution networks is a challenging task. Decision-makers rely on logistics assistance systems that recommend actions to optimise the networks. These systems can be based on simheuristics to benefit from metaheuristics in exploring possible solutions and on simulation for modelling the networks. This book presents three approaches to recommend promising solutions to optimise the networks with fewer simulation runs. The first approach utilises information from the network to guide the search of metaheuristics. In this approach, domain-specific information is defined and assigned to actions. The metaheuristic algorithm utilises this domain-specific information to find more-promising solutions. The second approach is reducing the number of possible solutions by grouping actions with respect to their domain-specific attributes. Here, the smaller solution space decreases the number of required simulation runs. The last approach looks for equivalent solutions that cause the same changes in the network. This approach aims to skip unnecessary evaluations and, thus, simulation effort.

A framework for online decision making under uncertainty and time constraints, with online stochastic algorithms for implementing the framework, performance guarantees, and demonstrations of a variety of applications.

WSC is the premier international forum for disseminating recent advances in the field of system simulation In addition to a technical program of unsurpassed scope and quality, WSC provides the central meeting for practitioners, researchers, and vendors

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This tutorial introduces readers to several variants of routing problems with profits. In these routing problems each node has a certain profit, and not all nodes need to be visited. Since the orienteering problem (OP) is by far the most frequently studied problem in this category of routing problems, the book mainly focuses on the OP. In turn, other problems are presented as variants of the OP, focusing on the similarities and differences. The goal of the OP is to determine a subset of nodes to visit and in which order, so that the total collected profit is maximized and a given time budget is not exceeded.The book provides a comprehensive review of variants of the OP, such as the team OP, the team OP with time windows, the profitable tour problem, and the prize-collecting travelling salesperson problem. In addition, it presents mathematical models and techniques for solving these OP variants and discusses their complexity. Several simple examples and benchmark instances, together with their best-known results, are also included. Finally, the book reviews the latest applications of these problems in the fields of logistics, tourism and others.

Arc Routing: Theory, Solutions and Applications is about arc traversal and the wide variety of arc routing problems, which has had its foundations in the modern graph theory work of Leonhard Euler. Arc routing methods and computation has become a fundamental optimization concept in operations research and has numerous applications in transportation, telecommunications, manufacturing, the Internet, and many other areas of modern life. The book draws from a variety of sources including the traveling salesman problem (TSP) and graph theory, which are used and studied by operations research, engineers, computer scientists, and mathematicians. In the last ten years or so, there has been extensive coverage of arc routing problems in the research literature, especially from a graph theory perspective; however, the field has not had the benefit of a uniform, systematic treatment. With this book, there is now a single volume that focuses on state-of-the-art exposition of arc routing problems, that explores its graph theoretical foundations, and that presents a number of solution methodologies in a variety of application settings. Moshe Dror has succeeded in working with an elite group of ARC routing scholars to develop the highest quality treatment of the current state-of-the-art in arc routing.

The series of Interdisciplinary Conferences on Production, Logistics and Traffic (ICPLT) address the research community as well as practitioners in these fields with special attention to links and interfaces between the three disciplines. The fourth ICPLT in particular deals with technology from intralogistics to automated trucking driving as well as the societal aspects of commercial transport. To contribute to a high-level and beneficial exchange between authorities in politics and municipalities with researchers and practitioners in production and logistics management the ICPLT has asked for contributions from the three disciplines to better understand innovative technologies, best practises and latest results. These contributions have been evaluated and selected based on a double-blind review process to become part of this book. It comprises 21 contributions examining trends and challenges for commercial transport as the essential link for production, logistics and society. Therefore, innovative technologies and strategies are presented and discussed to better understand the interdependencies, conflicts of interest and to develop feasible solutions. Topics · Simulation & Optimization in Production and Logistics · Freight Transport Demand Modelling · Intralogistics & Logistics Facilities · Policy & Human Factors · Production & Maintenance · Supply Chain Management · Sustainable Logistics & Energy Target Groups · Representatives of public authorities, municipalities & politics · Actors of sectoral, transport & spatial planning · Actors of production & logistics · Researchers in the disciplines production, logistics, transport & spatial planning