A note on scale transformations in the PROMETHEE V method

As already noted by Mavrotas et al. (2006), the PROMETHEE V method for multi-attribute analysis of portfolio problems will fail to include an item in a portfolio if it has a negative net flow with respect to other items, although adding such an item might actually improve the entire portfolio. However, the model formulated by Mavrotas et al. introduces a bias in favor of large portfolios because the PROMETHEE V method is sensitive to scale transformations. The present paper analyzes this effect and proposes a method to correct it.     

Optimization for dynamic ride-sharing: A review

Dynamic ride-share systems aim to bring together travelers with similar itineraries and time schedules on short-notice. These systems may provide significant societal and environmental benefits by reducing the number of cars used for personal travel and improving the utilization of available seat capacity. Effective and efficient optimization technology that matches drivers and riders in real-time is one of the necessary components for a successful dynamic ride-share system. We systematically outline the optimization challenges that arise when developing technology to support ride-sharing and survey the related operations research models in the academic literature. We hope that this paper will encourage more research by the transportation science and logistics community in this exciting, emerging area of public transportation.     

图书馆图书供应商选择的PROMETHEE/TOPSIS决策模型

图书供应商选择对图书馆各项功能的实现和未来的发展有着重要影响,这一重要问题的解决方法受到很多学者的关注。在构建图书供应商评价指标体系的基础上,提出了一种供应商选择的PROMETHEE／TOPSIS决策模型。模型通过向具有完全补偿性的TOPSIS方法中引入偏好函数,并结合摆动赋权方法,减少了决策信息的损失和扭曲,更好地反映了图书供应商间的差别。最后通过实例证明了该模型的有效性和实用性。     

Cooperative advertising models in supply chain management: A review

This paper reviews articles on cooperative advertising, a topic which has gained substantial interest in the recent years. Thereby, we first briefly distinguish five different definitions of cooperative advertising which can be found in operations research literature. After that, we concentrate on vertical cooperative advertising, which is the most common object of investigation and is understood as a financial agreement where a manufacturer offers to pay a certain share of his retailer’s advertising expenditures. In total, we identified 58 scientific papers considering mathematical modeling of vertical cooperative advertising. These articles are then analyzed with regard to their general model setting (e.g., the underlying supply chain structure and design of the cooperative advertising program). After that, we explain the different demand and cost functions that are employed, whereupon we distinguish between static and dynamic models. The last dimension of our review is dedicated to the game-theoretic concepts which are mostly used to reflect different forms of distribution of power within the channel.     

A new approach to multi-criteria sorting based on fuzzy outranking relations: The THESEUS method

In this paper, we propose the THESEUS method, a new approach based on fuzzy outranking relations to multi-criteria sorting problems. Compared with other outranking-based methods, THESEUS is inspired by another view of multi-criteria classification problems. It utilizes a new way of evaluating the assignment of an object to an element of the set of ordered categories that were previously defined. This way is based on comparing every possible assignment with the information from various preference relations that are derived from a fuzzy outranking relation defined on the universe of objects. The appropriate assignment is determined by solving a simple selection problem.The capacity of a reference set for making appropriate assignments is related to a good characterization of the categories. A single reference action characterizing a category may be insufficient to achieve well-determined assignments. In this paper, the reference set capacity to perform appropriate assignments is characterized by some new concepts. This capacity may be increased when more objects are added to the reference set. THESEUS is a method for handling the preference information contained in such larger reference sets.     

Research on warehouse operation: A comprehensive review

An extensive review on warehouse operation planning problems is presented. The problems are classified according to the basic warehouse functions, i.e., receiving, storage, order picking, and shipping. The literature in each category is summarized with an emphasis on the characteristics of various decision support models and solution algorithms. The purpose is to provide a bridge between academic researchers and warehouse practitioners, explaining what planning models and methods are currently available for warehouse operations, and what are the future research opportunities.     

Synchronization in cross-docking networks: A research classification and framework

Cross-docking is a distribution strategy that enables the consolidation of less-than-truckload shipments into full truckloads without long-term storage. Due to the absence of a storage buffer inside a cross-dock, local and network-wide cross-docking operations need to be carefully synchronized. This paper proposes a framework specifying the interdependencies between different cross-docking problem aspects with the aim to support future research in developing decision models with practical and scientific relevance. The paper also presents a new general classification scheme for cross-docking research based on the inputs and outputs for each problem aspect. After classifying the existing cross-docking research, we conclude that the overwhelming majority of papers fail to consider the synchronization of local and network-wide cross-docking operations. Lastly, to highlight the importance of synchronization in cross-docking networks, two real-life illustrative problems are described that are not yet addressed in the literature.     

Research on warehouse design and performance evaluation: A comprehensive review

This paper presents a detailed survey of the research on warehouse design, performance evaluation, practical case studies, and computational support tools. This and an earlier survey on warehouse operation provide a comprehensive review of existing academic research results in the framework of a systematic classification. Each research area within this framework is discussed, including the identification of the limits of previous research and of potential future research directions.     

Operational research and ethics: A literature review

Any human activity raises ethical questions, questions about ‘good’ and ‘right’ ways to act and to live; or to put it differently, questions of values and responsibility. From its inception operational research (OR) has engaged with such questions in terms of professional behavior, the handling of preferences in OR, the societal role of OR, the process of OR intervention and the content of OR analysis. As a result, analytical methods and processes have been developed to help clients explore the ethical dimension of their decisions. The paper reviews the literature published in selected OR journals (Management Science; Operations Research; Interfaces; the European Journal of Operational Research; the Journal of the Operations Research Society; Omega; International Transactions in Operational Research; the Journal of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis), organizing it along the lines of OR’s core competences. The review identifies a number of significant research programmes that are well established and are being energetically pursued; the research findings are being applied to a wide range of important issues. Ethical questions lie at the heart of the great governmental and commercial issues of the day: economic growth and instability; inequality and injustice; environmental degradation and sustainability. They also lie at the heart of the more mundane decisions of day-to-day OR. ‘Ethics’ therefore provides a useful focus for OR both in terms of raising the awareness of all concerned and in providing a theme for research. As a result of the review some research questions are suggested. There is much of interest, much to do.     

The school bus routing problem: A review

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of the school bus routing problem (SBRP). SBRP seeks to plan an efficient schedule for a fleet of school buses where each bus picks up students from various bus stops and delivers them to their designated schools while satisfying various constraints such as the maximum capacity of a bus, the maximum riding time of a student in a bus, and the time window of a school. This class of problem consists of different sub-problems involving data preparation, bus stop selection, bus route generation, school bell time adjustment, and bus scheduling. In this paper, the various assumptions, constraints, and solution methods used in the literature on SBRP are summarized. A list of issues requiring further research is also presented.     

Correction to: A literature review on police patrolling problems

Annals of Operations Research -     

Multimodal freight transportation planning: A literature review

Multimodal transportation offers an advanced platform for more efficient, reliable, flexible, and sustainable freight transportation. Planning such a complicated system provides interesting areas in Operations Research. This paper presents a structured overview of the multimodal transportation literature from 2005 onward. We focus on the traditional strategic, tactical, and operational levels of planning, where we present the relevant models and their developed solution techniques. We conclude our review paper with an outlook to future research directions.     

Maintenance models in warranty: A literature review

Along with increasing the warranty period for complex systems, reducing the warranty servicing costs has become an issue of great importance to the manufacturers. One possible way to reduce the expected warranty servicing cost is by making sound decision on the product warranty and maintenance strategies. Therefore, warranties (basic warranty and extended warranty) and maintenance (corrective and preventive) are strongly interlinked and of great interest to both manufacturers and customers. This paper is the first identifiable academic literature review to deal with warranty and maintenance. It provides a classification scheme for the articles that link warranty and maintenance published between 2001 and 2011 covering 44 journals and proposes a taxonomy scheme to classify these articles. Nine hundred articles were identified for their relevance to warranty and were carefully reviewed. One-hundred and twenty-two articles were subsequently selected for their relevance to maintenance and included in the classification.     

Optimizing macroeconomic policy: A review of approaches and applications

In this paper the main approaches to optimizing macroeconomic policy problems are reviewed. These include the classical approaches of Tinbergen, Theil and Frisch as well as several mathematical programming methods, such as linear programming, goal programming, interactive multiple criteria optimization, and methods of optimal control. In addition, several applications are described. Finally, the usefullness and suitability of these approaches to solving macroeconomic policy problems in practice is discussed.     

Assessing bank efficiency and performance with operational research and artificial intelligence techniques: A survey

This paper presents a comprehensive review of 196 studies which employ operational research (O.R.) and artificial intelligence (A.I.) techniques in the assessment of bank performance. Several key issues in the literature are highlighted. The paper also points to a number of directions for future research. We first discuss numerous applications of data envelopment analysis which is the most widely applied O.R. technique in the field. Then we discuss applications of other techniques such as neural networks, support vector machines, and multicriteria decision aid that have also been used in recent years, in bank failure prediction studies and the assessment of bank creditworthiness and underperformance.     

The extended QUALIFLEX method for multiple criteria decision analysis based on interval type-2 fuzzy sets and applications to medical decision making

QUALIFLEX, a generalization of Jacquet-Lagreze’s permutation method, is a useful outranking method in decision analysis because of its flexibility with respect to cardinal and ordinal information. This paper develops an extended QUALIFLEX method for handling multiple criteria decision-making problems in the context of interval type-2 fuzzy sets. Interval type-2 fuzzy sets contain membership values that are crisp intervals, which are the most widely used of the higher order fuzzy sets because of their relative simplicity. Using the linguistic rating system converted into interval type-2 trapezoidal fuzzy numbers, the extended QUALIFLEX method investigates all possible permutations of the alternatives with respect to the level of concordance of the complete preference order. Based on a signed distance-based approach, this paper proposes the concordance/discordance index, the weighted concordance/discordance index, and the comprehensive concordance/discordance index as evaluative criteria of the chosen hypothesis for ranking the alternatives. The feasibility and applicability of the proposed methods are illustrated by a medical decision-making problem concerning acute inflammatory demyelinating disease, and a comparative analysis with another outranking approach is conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.     

Design and control of warehouse order picking: A literature review

Order picking has long been identified as the most labour-intensive and costly activity for almost every warehouse; the cost of order picking is estimated to be as much as 55% of the total warehouse operating expense. Any underperformance in order picking can lead to unsatisfactory service and high operational cost for the warehouse, and consequently for the whole supply chain. In order to operate efficiently, the order-picking process needs to be robustly designed and optimally controlled. This paper gives a literature overview on typical decision problems in design and control of manual order-picking processes. We focus on optimal (internal) layout design, storage assignment methods, routing methods, order batching and zoning. The research in this area has grown rapidly recently. Still, combinations of the above areas have hardly been explored. Order-picking system developments in practice lead to promising new research directions.