A data-driven, distribution-free, multivariate approach to the price-setting newsvendor problem

Many aspects of the classical price-setting newsvendor problem have been studied in the literature and most of the results pertain to the case where the price-demand relationship and demand distribution are explicitly provided. However, in practice, one needs to model and estimate these from historical sales data. Furthermore, many other drivers besides price must be … Read more

A mean-risk MINLP for transportation network protection

This paper focuses on transportation network protection to hedge against extreme events such as earthquakes. Traditional two-stage stochastic programming has been widely adopted to obtain solutions under a risk-neutral preference through the use of expectations in the recourse function. In reality, decision makers hold different risk preferences. We develop a mean-risk two-stage stochastic programming model … Read more

Decomposition algorithm for large-scale two-stage unit-commitment

Everyday, electricity generation companies submit a generation schedule to the grid operator for the coming day; computing an optimal schedule is called the unit-commitment problem. Generation companies can also occasionally submit changes to the schedule, that can be seen as intra-daily incomplete recourse actions. In this paper, we propose a two-stage formulation of unit-commitment, wherein … Read more

An exact solution method for binary equilibrium problems with compensation and the power market uplift problem

We propose a novel method to fi nd Nash equilibria in games with binary decision variables by including compensation payments and incentive-compatibility constraints from non-cooperative game theory directly into an optimization framework in lieu of using first order conditions of a linearization, or relaxation of integrality conditions. The reformulation off ers a new approach to obtain and … Read more

An MILP-MINLP decomposition method for the global optimization of a source based model of the multiperiod blending problem

The multiperiod blending problem involves binary variables and bilinear terms, yielding a nonconvex MINLP. In this work we present two major contributions for the global solution of the problem. The rst one is an alternative formulation of the problem. This formulation makes use of redundant constraints that improve the MILP relaxation of the MINLP. The … Read more

Compromise Ratio with weighting functions in a Tabu Search multi-criteria approach to examination timetabling

University examination scheduling is a difficult and heavily administrative task, particularly when the number of students and courses is high. Changes in educational paradigms, an increase in the number of students, the aggregation of schools, more flexible curricula, among others, are responsible for an increase in the difficulty of the problem. As a consequence, there … Read more

Convex Hull Pricing in Electricity Markets: Formulation, Analysis, and Implementation Challenges

Recent widespread interest in Convex Hull Pricing has not been accompanied by an equally broad understanding of the method. This paper seeks to narrow the gap between enthusiasm and comprehension. The connection between Convex Hull Pricing and basic electricity market clearing processes is clearly developed, and a new formulation of the pricing problem is presented. … Read more

An ILP-based local search procedure for the VRP with pickups and deliveries

In this paper we address the Vehicle Routing Problem with Pickups and Deliveries (VRPPD), an extension of the classical Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) where we consider precedences among customers, and develop an Integer Linear Programming (ILP) based local search procedure. We consider the capacitated one-to-one variant, where a particular precedence must be satisfied between pairs … Read more

A cluster-first route-second approach for the Swap Body Vehicle Routing Problem

The Swap Body Vehicle Routing Problem (SB-VRP) is a generalization of the classical Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) where a particular structure as well as several operational aspects for the trucks composing the fleet are considered. This research has been motivated by the VeRoLog Solver Challenge 2014, organized together by VeRoLog and PTV group, aiming to … Read more

The One-Dimensional Dynamic Dispatch Waves Problem

We study same-day delivery (SDD) distribution systems by formulating the Dynamic Dispatch Wave Problem (DDWP), which models a depot where delivery requests arrive dynamically throughout a service day. At any dispatch epoch (wave), the information available to the decision maker is (1) a set of known, open requests which remain unfulfilled, and (2) a set … Read more