Stochastic optimization methods for transportation and network design problems

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

In an economy where more and more companies have international activities, logistics plays a crucial role. Within the logistics field, transportation and network design issues are at the heart of some of the more important problems that must be solved to ensure competitiveness. Since these issues are to be addressed considering a planning environment where uncertainty is always present, the research program that is part of this proposal is dedicated to the development of optimization models and solution algorithms for stochastic problems related to this field. Three main research areas will be covered here. Research area one will consider stochastic vehicle routing problems as they are defined when complex operational issues are to be taken into account (e.g., "rich" planning environment). Research area two will cover the design of the supply chain when uncertainty influences the parameters to be considered. Within these first two research areas, practical and applied problems will be studied; therefore, three major tasks will be undertaken. The first will be dedicated to the modelling of the problems considered. A particular emphasis will be placed on formulating the uncertainty observed and on expressing the real recourse actions available to companies that face these issues. The second task will include the development of solution algorithms for the problems formulated. Finally, the third task will cover the validation of the solutions obtained. Within this task, simulation based models will be used to measure the effectiveness of the stochastic approach that is proposed. The third and last research area defined in this proposal will be used for the development of general solution methodologies for classical stochastic problems. Within this area, the use of both hybrid and parallel strategies will be considered.