Fault-tolerant concave facility location problem with uniform requirements

In this paper, we consider the fault-tolerant concave facility location problem (FTCFL) with uni- form requirements. By investigating the structure of the FTCFL, we obtain a modified dual-fitting bifactor approximation algorithm. Combining the scaling and greedy argumentation technique, the approximation fac- tor is proved to be 1.52.     

Approximation algorithms for the stochastic priority facility location problem

In this article, we present a primal-dual 3-approximation algorithm for the stochastic priority facility location problem. Combined with greedy augmentation procedure, such performance factor is further improved to 1.8526.     

An approximation algorithm for the dynamic facility location problem with submodular penalties

In this paper, we study the dynamic facility location problem with submodular penalties （DFLPSP）. We present a combinatorial primal-dual 3-approximation algorithm for the DFLPSP.     

IP modeling of the survivable hop constrained connected facility location problem

We consider a generalized version of the rooted connected facility location problem which occurs in planning of telecommunication networks with both survivability and hop-length constraints. Given a set of client nodes, a set of potential facility nodes including one predetermined root facility, a set of optional Steiner nodes, and the set of the potential connections among these nodes, that task is to decide which facilities to open, how to assign the clients to the open facilities, and how to interconnect the open facilities in such a way, that the resulting network contains at least λ edge-disjoint paths, each containing at most H edges, between the root and each open facility and that the total cost for opening facilities and installing connections is minimal. We study two IP models for this problem and present a branch-and-cut algorithm based on Benders decomposition for finding its solution. Finally, we report computational results.     

Approximation algorithm for facility location with service installation costs

In this paper, we study the uncapacitated facility location problem with service installation costs depending on the type of service required. We propose a polynomial-time approximation algorithm with approximation ratio 1.808 which improves the previous approximation ratio of 2.391 of Shmoys, Swamy, and Levi.     

Competitive facility location and design with reactions of competitors already in the market

A new retail facility is to locate and its service quality is to determine where similar facilities of competitors offering the same goods are already present. The market share captured by each facility depends on its distance to customers and its quality, which is described by a probabilistic Huff-like model. In order to maximize the profit of the new facility, a two-stage method is developed, which takes into account the reactions of the competitors. In the quality decision stage, the competitive decision process occurring among facilities is modelled as a game, whose solution is given by its Nash equilibrium. The solution, which can be represented as functions of the location of the new facility, is obtained by analytical resolution of a system of equations in the case of one facility in the market or by polynomial approximation in the case of multiple facilities. In the location decision stage, an interval based global optimization method is used to determine the best location of the new facility. Numerical experiments on randomly generated instances demonstrate the effectiveness of the method.     

A cross-monotonic cost sharing method for the facility location game with service installation costs

In this paper,we consider the metric uncapacitated facility location game with service installation costs. Our main result is an 11-approximate cross-monotonic cost-sharing method under the assumption that the installation cost depends only on the service type.     

Competitive facility location with random attractiveness

Customers’ perception of a particular facility’s attractiveness is likely to be heterogeneous. However, existing competitive facility location models assume that facilities’ attractiveness levels are fixed. We extend the gravity model assuming randomly distributed facilities’ attractiveness. We propose two effective solution methods. One is based on discretizing the attractiveness level distribution. The second is based on the concept of an “effective” attractiveness. Effective attractiveness is the level of fixed attractiveness whose calculated optimal market share approximately equals the expected optimal market share under random attractiveness. We show how effective attractiveness is calculated.     

Retail facility location under changing market conditions

In this paper we investigate the location of retail facilitiesunder changing market conditions when market conditions areexpected to change during the planning horizon. Three modelsare presented: (1) the minimax regret model where the objectivefunction is to minimize the maximum possible loss under differentmarket scenarios, (2) the Stackelberg equilibrium model wherebya future competitor enters the market and one wishes to maximizethe market share captured throughout the planning horizon incorporatingthe market share loss to the competitor, and (3) the thresholdmodel in which we consider a minimum threshold level such thatif the market share captured by the new facility fails to reachthat threshold, the facility will not survive. Our objectiveis to minimize the probability of failure.     

随机容错设施选址问题的原始-对偶近似算法

研究两阶段随机容错设施选址问题,其中需要服务的顾客在第二阶段出现（在第一阶段不知道）．两个阶段中每个设施的开设费用可以不同,设施的开设依赖于阶段和需要服务的顾客集合（称为场景）．并且在出现的场景里的每个顾客都有相同的连接需求,即每个顾客需要由r个不同的设施服务．给定所有可能的场景及相应的概率,目标是在两个阶段分别选取开设的设施集合,将出现场景的顾客连接到r个不同的开设设施上,使得包括设施费用和连接费用的总平均费用最小．根据问题的特定结构,给出了原始。对偶（组合）3-近似算法．     

Optimal location and design of a competitive facility

A single facility has to be located in competition with fixed existing facilities of similar type. Demand is supposed to be concentrated at a finite number of points, and consumers patronise the facility to which they are attracted most. Attraction is expressed by some function of the quality of the facility and its distance to demand. For existing facilities quality is fixed, while quality of the new facility may be freely chosen at known costs. The total demand captured by the new facility generates income. The question is to find that location and quality for the new facility which maximises the resulting profits.It is shown that this problem is well posed as soon as consumers are novelty oriented, i.e. attraction ties are resolved in favour of the new facility. Solution of the problem then may be reduced to a bicriterion maxcovering-minquantile problem for which solution methods are known. In the planar case with Euclidean distances and a variety of attraction functions this leads to a finite algorithm polynomial in the number of consumers, whereas, for more general instances, the search of a maximal profit solution is reduced to solving a series of small-scale nonlinear optimisation problems. Alternative tie-resolution rules are finally shown to result in problems in which optimal solutions might not exist.Mathematics Subject Classification (2000):90B85, 90C30, 90C29, 91B42Partially supported by Grant PB96-1416-C02-02 of the D.G.E.S. and Grant BFM2002-04525-C02-02 of Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología, Spain     

On an open problem in spherical facility location

In this paper we partially resolve an open problem in spherical facility location. The spherical facility location problem is a generalization of the planar Euclidean facility location problem. This problem was first studied by Katz and Cooper and by Drezner and Wesolowsky where a Weszfeld-like algorithm was proposed. This algorithm is very simple and does not require a line search. However, its convergence has been an open problem for more than ten years. In this paper, we prove that the sequence generated by the algorithm converges to the unique optimal solution under the condition that the oscillation of the sequence converges to zero. We conjecture that the algorithm is a descent algorithm and prove that the sequence generated by the algorithm converges to the optimal solution under this conjecture.     

Competitive facility location and design problem

We develop a spatial interaction model that seeks to simultaneously optimize location and design decisions for a set of new facilities. The facilities compete for customer demand with pre-existing competitive facilities and with each other. The customer demand is assumed to be elastic, expanding as the utility of the service offered by the facilities increases. Increases in the utility can be achieved by increasing the number of facilities, design improvements, or locating facilities closer to the customer.     

An approximation algorithm for a facility location problem with stochastic demands and inventories

We propose a 2-approximation algorithm for a facility location problem with stochastic demands. At open facilities, inventory is kept such that arriving requests find a zero inventory with (at most) some pre-specified probability. Costs incurred are expected transportation costs, facility operating costs and inventory costs.     

On a connection between facility location and perfect graphs

We characterize the graphs for which a linear relaxation of a facility location problem defines a polytope with all integral extreme points. We use a transformation to a stable set problem in perfect graphs. Based on this transformation, these graphs can be recognized in polynomial time.     

On the convergence of a modified algorithm for the spherical facility location problem

We study the spherical facility location problem which is a more realistic model than the Euclidean facilities location. We present a modified algorithm for this problem, which has the following good properties: (a) It is very easy to initialize the algorithm with an arbitrary point as its starting point; (b) Under suitable assumptions, it is proved that the algorithm globally converges to a global minimizer of the problem.     

Single facility location on a network under mill and delivered pricing

^** E-mail: pelegrin{at}um.es Firms normally use either a mill price or a delivered pricepolicy, depending on market conditions (type of good, transportationway, customers location, costs, etc). In this paper, the problemof selecting the best location for an entering firm in competitionwith some pre-existing firms, under each price policy, is studiedon a network for the first time. With mill pricing, an equilibriumin price rarely exists and it is assumed that all competingfirms set a common mill price for all customers. With deliveredpricing, there exists a Nash equilibrium in price and it isassumed that the equilibrium price in each area is offered tothe customers in that area. In both cases, we consider thatcustomers buy from the cheapest facility and the same rulesare used for tie breaking in the lowest cost. While the profitmaximization problem for the entering firm always has optimalsolutions under mill pricing, this problem might not have anoptimal solution under delivered pricing. We show some discretizationresults and give procedures to find the full set of optimal,or -optimal, solutions to the problem under the two price policies.A comparison of results with the two price policies is givenby using an illustrative example.