Title: Packing issues and optimization models in Supply Chain
Speaker: Louis-Martin Rousseau, Polytechnique Montréal
Time: 11:30 AM, Tuesday 5th April, 2016
Venue: LT205, Lecture Complex
Abstract: The goal of packing optimization is to provide a foundation for decisions related to inventory allocation and transportation as merchandise is brought to warehouses and then dispatched. Major retail chains must fulfill requests from hundreds of stores by dispatching items stored in their warehouses. The demand for items may vary to a considerable extent from one store to the next. To take this into account, the warehouse must pack “boxes” or “trucks” containing different mixes of items. The number of distinct box types has a major impact on the operating costs. Thus, the PrePack problem consists in determining the number and contents of the box types, as well as the allocation of boxes to stores. In the context of transportation, problem compagnies often face 3D container loading problems, we sill study the context of agricultural tires occurring in one of the leading tire manufacturers. The problem is very hard even in the context of satisfaction: given a shipment and a container, is it possible to find a loading plan that respects all the positioning rules defined by the company? The presentation will cover a wide range of methodologies such as Constraint Programming, Mixed Integer Programming, Dynamic Programming, and metaheuristics.
Speaker Bio: Louis-Martin Rousseau is a full professor at Polytechnique Montréal, University of Montréal’s engineering school, and a Canada Research Chair in Healthcare Analytics and Logistics. His research focuses on in solving complex routing problems, personnel rostering problems, as well as integrated decision problems which appear in supply chain both in retail and in healthcare. To address these issues he puts forward hybrid methodologies based on constraint programming and classical operations research. See https://w1.cirrelt.ca/~louism/ for more details.