Approximation algorithms for general one‐warehouse multi‐retailer systems

Logistical planning problems are complicated in practice because planners have to deal with the challenges of demand planning and supply replenishment, while taking into account the issues of (i) inventory perishability and storage charges, (ii) management of backlog and/or lost sales, and (iii) cost saving opportunities due to economies of scale in order replenishment and transportation. It is therefore not surprising that many logistical planning problems are computationally difficult, and finding a good solution to these problems necessitates the development of many ad hoc algorithmic procedures to address various features of the planning problems. In this article, we identify simple conditions and structural properties associated with these logistical planning problems in which the warehouse is managed as a cross‐docking facility. Despite the nonlinear cost structures in the problems, we show that a solution that is within ε‐optimality can be obtained by solving a related piece‐wise linear concave cost multi‐commodity network flow problem. An immediate consequence of this result is that certain classes of logistical planning problems can be approximated by a factor of (1 + ε) in polynomial time. This significantly improves upon the results found in literature for these classes of problems. We also show that the piece‐wise linear concave cost network flow problem can be approximated to within a logarithmic factor via a large scale linear programming relaxation. We use polymatroidal constraints to capture the piece‐wise concavity feature of the cost functions. This gives rise to a unified and generic LP‐based approach for a large class of complicated logistical planning problems. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2009     

A hybrid method for simulation factor screening

Factor screening is performed to eliminate unimportant factors so that the remaining important factors can be more thoroughly studied in later experiments. Controlled sequential bifurcation (CSB) and controlled sequential factorial design (CSFD) are two new screening methods for discrete‐event simulations. Both methods use hypothesis testing procedures to control the Type I Error and power of the screening results. The scenarios for which each method is most efficient are complementary. This study proposes a two‐stage hybrid approach that combines CSFD and an improved CSB called CSB‐X. In Phase 1, a prescreening procedure will estimate each effect and determine whether CSB‐X or CSFD will be used for further screening. In Phase 2, CSB‐X and CSFD are performed separately based on the assignment of Phase 1. The new method usually has the same error control as CSB‐X and CSFD. The efficiency, on the other hand, is usually much better than either component method. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2010     

Optimizing natural gas pipeline transmission with nonuniform elevation: A new initialization approach

In this paper, we develop an iterative piecewise linear approximation approach with a novel initialization method to solve natural gas pipeline transmission problems with the nonuniform network elevation. Previous approaches, such as energy minimization methods, cannot be applied to solve problems with the nonuniform network elevation because they exclude pressure range constraints, and thus provide solutions far from optimum. We propose a new initialization model that considers pressure range constraints and improves the optimality of the solutions and the computational efficiency. Furthermore, we extend the energy minimization methods and provide the necessary conditions under which the extended methods operate in networks with the nonuniform elevation. We test the performances of the methods with previously reported pipeline networks from the literature, with the open data set GasLib, and with our industrial collaborator. The initialization approach is shown to be more efficient than the method with fixed initial breakpoints. The newly proposed initialization approach generates solutions with a higher accuracy than the extended energy minimization methods, especially in large‐size networks. The proposed method has been applied to natural gas transmission planning by the China National Petroleum Corporation and has brought a direct profit increase of 330 million U.S. dollars in 2015‐2017.     

Data-driven research in retail operations—A review

We review the operations research/management science literature on data-driven methods in retail operations. This line of work has grown rapidly in recent years, thanks to the availability of high-quality data, improvements in computing hardware, and parallel developments in machine learning methodologies. We survey state-of-the-art studies in three core aspects of retail operations—assortment optimization, order fulfillment, and inventory management. We then conclude the paper by pointing out some interesting future research possibilities for our community.     

Contrasting the Impacts of Combat and Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief Missions on the Mental Health of Military Service Members

Abstract

We study the differential impacts of combat and humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (HA/DR) missions on the mental health of U.S. Marine Corps members. The deployment experiences of any individual Marine are plausibly random conditional on the observable characteristics which are used to assign Marines into units. Leveraging this exogenous variation, we compare the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicide deaths among Marines who deployed to either Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) or HA/DR missions between 2001 and 2011. We find that the hazard of PTSD is close to eight times higher among Marines returning from OEF/OIF compared to those never deployed, and just 1.33 times higher among those returning from HA/DR (and never participated in OEF/OIF). Those returning from OEF/OIF missions are 1.81 times more likely than those never deployed to die by suicide when they were still active duty, and the hazard increases to almost 3 after they have left the military. In contrast, we find no difference in the hazards of suicide death between those that deployed to only HA/DR missions and non-deployed Marines.     

一种基于核心数据区监视的交叉验证方法

通常商用体系结构模拟器不开源,仿真过程中无法直接获取中间结果.提出了一种基于核心数据区监视的交叉验证方法,可将体系结构模拟器运行过程中核心数据区的变化情况提取出来,用以支持该模拟器与寄存器传输级代码的模拟结果进行交叉比对,快速精确定位两者的执行差异,提高验证人员的查错效率.实验分析和实际应用表明,本方法比传统方法可将查...     

Monitoring poisson count data with probability control limits when sample sizes are time varying

This article considers the problem of monitoring Poisson count data when sample sizes are time varying without assuming a priori knowledge of sample sizes. Traditional control charts, whose control limits are often determined before the control charts are activated, are constructed based on perfect knowledge of sample sizes. In practice, however, future sample sizes are often unknown. Making an inappropriate assumption of the distribution function could lead to unexpected performance of the control charts, for example, excessive false alarms in the early runs of the control charts, which would in turn hurt an operator's confidence in valid alarms. To overcome this problem, we propose the use of probability control limits, which are determined based on the realization of sample sizes online. The conditional probability that the charting statistic exceeds the control limit at present given that there has not been a single alarm before can be guaranteed to meet a specified false alarm rate. Simulation studies show that our proposed control chart is able to deliver satisfactory run length performance for any time‐varying sample sizes. The idea presented in this article can be applied to any effective control charts such as the exponentially weighted moving average or cumulative sum chart. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 60: 625–636, 2013     

空间飞行器主动段的轨道估计与误差分析

为了对无源探测卫星系统的定轨方式和精度进行定量分析,通过坐标转换、受力分析、拟合、最小二乘法、微分方程数值解法与误差分析等方法,建立了基于卫星无源探测的空间飞行器在主动段的交汇定位优化模型和运动方程模型。基于模拟数据和模型,给出了卫星和空间飞行器的轨道曲线以及卫星的系统误差。经过系统误差修正,空间飞行器的估计轨道误差仅为7.582 1 m。     

基于呼叫状态的IMS业务触发算法

在IMS会话和和业务控制过程中,随着业务量的增长,S-CSCF面临的负载急剧增加,3GPP原有IMS业务的集中控制方式极易形成性能“瓶颈”,从而影响系统服务质量。为降低会话时延,提高系统性能,本文在研究基于分组的业务触发算法和基于呼叫状态的业务触发算法基础上,提出了一种基于呼叫状态的分组业务触发算法（C-GSTA）,并对其进行性能建模和理论分析。仿真结果表明,在业务种类和业务量增加的情况下,C-GSTA算法能够有效降低S-CSCF与服务器之间的信令流量,提高IMS系统吞吐量,缩短S-CSCF处理时延,改善业务触发性能和网络服务质量。     

基于转移费用矩阵的机器人路径规划方法

本文描述了机器人路径规划的一种新方法：基于转移费用矩阵的机器人路径规划方法。通过定义转移费用矩阵的概念及其上的二元运算,将最优路径的生成,转化为矩阵的运算,使得有限步的矩阵运算,即可得到环境中所有点间的最优路径,达到了在预处理阶段构造最优路径集的目的。最后,介绍了该方法在移动机器人任务规划中的应用