Wen-Chyuan Chiang

An overview of research on revenue management: current issues and future research

The paper provides a comprehensive review of the recent development of revenue management in different industries. We discuss research on different revenue management strategies including pricing, auctions, capacity control, overbooking and forecasting. Related issues such as economic concerns, customer perception, competition and consolidation, implementation, performance evaluation, and common techniques and approaches used for solving revenue management problems are also discussed. Finally, we give our suggestion on some important areas that warrant further research.

SIMULATED ANNEALING METAHEURISTICS FOR THE VEHICLE ROUTING PROBLEM WITH TIME WINDOWS

This paper develops simulated annealing metaheuristics for the vehicle routing and scheduling problem with time window constraints. Two different neighborhood structures, the λ-interchange mechanism of Osman and thek-node interchange process of Christofides and Beasley, are implemented. The enhancement of the annealing process with a short-term memory function via a tabu list is examined as a basis for improving the metaheuristic approach. Computational results on test problems from the literature as well as large-scale real-world problem are reported. The metaheuristics achieve solutions that compare favorably with previously reported results.

A Reactive Tabu Search Metaheuristic for the Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows

This article develops a reactive tabu search metaheuristic for the vehicle routing and scheduling problem with time window constraints. Reactive tabu search dynamically varies the size of the list of forbidden moves to avoid cycles as well as an overly constrained search path. Intensification and diversification strategies are examined as ways to achieve higher quality solutions. The (lambda)-interchange mechanism of Osman is used as the neighborhood structure for the search process. Computational results on test problems from the literature as well as large-scale real-world problems are reported. The metaheuristic achieves solutions that compare favorably with previously reported results.

A neural network approach to mutual fund net asset value forecasting

In this paper, an artificial neural network method is applied to forecast the end-of-year net asset value (NAV) of mutual funds. The back-propagation neural network is identified and explained. Historical economic information is used for the prediction of NAV data. The results of the forecasting are compared to those of traditional econometric techniques (i.e. linear and nonlinear regression analysis), and it is shown that neural networks significantly outperform regression models in situations with limited data availability.

Scatter search for the vehicle routing problem with time windows

In this paper we use a scatter search framework to solve the vehicle routing problem with time windows (VRPTW). Our objective is to achieve effective solutions and to investigate the effects of reference set design parameters pertaining to size, quality and diversity. Both a common arc method and an optimization-based set covering model are used to combine vehicle routing solutions. A reactive tabu search metaheuristic and a tabu search with an advanced recovery feature, together with a set covering procedure are used for solution improvement. Our approach led to a robust solution method, generating solution quality that is competitive with the current best metaheuristics.

A simulated annealing procedure for single row layout problems in flexible manufacturing systems

In this paper we address a layout problem in flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs). A layout type that has been extensively implemented in FMSs is the single row machine layout. In such a configuration machines are arranged along a straight track with a material handling device moving jobs from one machine to another. The single row layout problem (SRLP) deals with the optimal arrangement of the machines for the above configuration. We propose a simulated annealing (SA) heuristic for the solution of SRLP. Extensive computational results, and ways to improve the performance of the SA algorithm through parameter fine-tuning procedures, are reported.

An improved tabu search heuristic for solving facility layout design problems

The design of the facility layout of a manufacturing system, usually formulated and solved as a quadratic assignment problem (QAP), is of tremendous importance for its effective utilization. In this paper we discuss a new implementation of the tabu search metaheuristic to solve the QAP. Our tabu search implementation includes recency-based and long term memory structure, dynamic tabu list size strategies, and intensification and diversification strategies. The tabu search algorithm converges with a reasonable speed from any random initial solution to very good layouts. Our extensive computational experiments, including statistical analysis and library analysis, strongly support the superiority of our tabu search implementation (we refer to it as (CK)) over existing algorithms in the literature.

The application of a tabu search metaheuristic to the assembly line balancing problem

This paper describes the application of tabu search, a metaheuristic technique for optimization problems, to assembly line balancing problems. Four different versions of algorithms are developed. They all share the same tabu search strategy except that the first one uses the best improvement with task aggregation, the second one uses best improvement without task aggregation, the third one uses the first improvement with task aggregation, and the last one uses the first improvement without task aggregation. Computational experiments with these different search strategies have been performed for some assembly line problems from the open literature. The results show that tabu search performs extremely well. Except for a few cases, tabu search always finds optimal solutions.

An optimal piecewise-linear program for the U-line balancing problem with stochastic task times

Abstract The utilization of U-shaped layouts in place of the traditional straight-line configuration has become increasingly popular, with reported benefits of substantial improvements in productivity and quality. This paper examines the U-line balancing problem with stochastic task times. A chance-constrained, piecewise-linear, integer program is formulated to find the optimal solution. Various approaches used to identify a tight lower bound are also presented, as are operable extensions to the basic model. Computational results show that the proposed method is able to solve practical-sized problems.

Integrating multi-product production and distribution in newspaper logistics

This paper presents a tabu search metaheuristic to aid in the coordination and synchronization of the production and delivery of multi-product newspapers to bulk delivery locations. The problem is modeled as an open vehicle routing problem with time windows and zoning constraints. The methodology is applied to the newspaper production and distribution problem in a major metropolitan area. Computational results are presented and show significant improvement relative to an existing newspaper companys operations.