Algorithms for the multi‐item multi‐vehicles dynamic lot sizing problem

We consider a two‐stage supply chain, in which multi‐items are shipped from a manufacturing facility or a central warehouse to a downstream retailer that faces deterministic external demand for each of the items over a finite planning horizon. The items are shipped through identical capacitated vehicles, each incurring a fixed cost per trip. In addition, there exist item‐dependent variable shipping costs and inventory holding costs at the retailer for items stored at the end of the period; these costs are constant over time. The sum of all costs must be minimized while satisfying the external demand without backlogging. In this paper we develop a search algorithm to solve the problem optimally. Our search algorithm, although exponential in the worst case, is very efficient empirically due to new properties of the optimal solution that we found, which allow us to restrict the number of solutions examined. Second, we perform a computational study that compares the empirical running time of our search methods to other available exact solution methods to the problem. Finally, we characterize the conditions under which each of the solution methods is likely to be faster than the others and suggest efficient heuristic solutions that we recommend using when the problem is large in all dimensions. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2006.     

A branch‐and‐cut algorithm for the quay crane scheduling problem in a container terminal

The quay crane scheduling problem consists of determining a sequence of unloading and loading movements for cranes assigned to a vessel in order to minimize the vessel completion time as well as the crane idle times. Idle times originate from interferences between cranes since these roll on the same rails and a minimum safety distance must be maintained between them. The productivity of container terminals is often measured in terms of the time necessary to load and unload vessels by quay cranes, which are the most important and expensive equipment used in ports. We formulate the quay crane scheduling problem as a vehicle routing problem with side constraints, including precedence relationships between vertices. For small size instances our formulation can be solved by CPLEX. For larger ones we have developed a branch‐and‐cut algorithm incorporating several families of valid inequalities, which exploit the precedence constraints between vertices. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2006     

Contractual agreements for coordination and vendor‐managed delivery under explicit transportation considerations

We consider the coordination problem between a vendor and a buyer operating under generalized replenishment costs that include fixed costs as well as stepwise freight costs. We study the stochastic demand, single‐period setting where the buyer must decide on the order quantity to satisfy random demand for a single item with a short product life cycle. The full order for the cycle is placed before the cycle begins and no additional orders are accepted by the vendor. Due to the nonrecurring nature of the problem, the vendor's replenishment quantity is determined by the buyer's order quantity. Consequently, by using an appropriate pricing schedule to influence the buyer's ordering behavior, there is an opportunity for the vendor to achieve substantial savings from transportation expenses, which are represented in the generalized replenishment cost function. For the problem of interest, we prove that the vendor's expected profit is not increasing in buyer's order quantity. Therefore, unlike the earlier work in the area, it is not necessarily profitable for the vendor to encourage larger order quantities. Using this nontraditional result, we demonstrate that the concept of economies of scale may or may not work by identifying the cases where the vendor can increase his/her profits either by increasing or decreasing the buyer's order quantity. We prove useful properties of the expected profit functions in the centralized and decentralized models of the problem, and we utilize these properties to develop alternative incentive schemes for win–win solutions. Our analysis allows us to quantify the value of coordination and, hence, to identify additional opportunities for the vendor to improve his/her profits by potentially turning a nonprofitable transaction into a profitable one through the use of an appropriate tariff schedule or a vendor‐managed delivery contract. We demonstrate that financial gain associated with these opportunities is truly tangible under a vendor‐managed delivery arrangement that potentially improves the centralized solution. Although we take the viewpoint of supply chain coordination and our goal is to provide insights about the effect of transportation considerations on the channel coordination objective and contractual agreements, the paper also contributes to the literature by analyzing and developing efficient approaches for solving the centralized problem with stepwise freight costs in the single‐period setting. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2006     

Priority and dynamic scheduling in a make‐to‐stock queue with hyperexponential demand

We consider the scheduling problem in a make‐to‐stock queue with two demand classes that can be differentiated based on their variability. One class experiences Poisson arrivals and the other class experiences hyperexponential renewal arrivals. We provide an exact analysis of the case where the demand class with higher variability is given non‐preemptive priority. The results are then used to compare the inventory cost performance of three scheduling disciplines, first‐come first‐serve and priority to either class. We then build on an existing dynamic scheduling heuristic to propose a modification that works well for our system. Extensions of the heuristic to more than two classes and to the case where demand state is known are also discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2006.     

The stochastic joint replenishment problem: A new policy,analysis, and insights

In this study, we propose a new parsimonious policy for the stochastic joint replenishment problem in a single‐location, N‐item setting. The replenishment decisions are based on both group reorder point‐group order quantity and the time since the last decision epoch. We derive the expressions for the key operating characteristics of the inventory system for both unit and compound Poisson demands. In a comprehensive numerical study, we compare the performance of the proposed policy with that of existing ones over a standard test bed. Our numerical results indicate that the proposed policy dominates the existing ones in 100 of 139 instances with comparably significant savings for unit demands. With batch demands, the savings increase as the stochasticity of demand size gets larger. We also observe that it performs well in environments with low demand diversity across items. The inventory system herein also models a two‐echelon setting with a single item, multiple retailers, and cross docking at the upper echelon. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2006     

对策理论的防空作战决策级融合模型

随着防空C3I系统的发展,防空作战决策的过程较以往更为自动化,用于生成各种作战辅助决策方案的计算机模型也具备随着作战环境改变所表现出一定的自适应调整的特征.影响防空作战决策结果正确性的因素众多,表现这些因素的信息有些是冲突的,为得到更为准确、有效的决策方案,各类冲突信息的处理成为防空作战的核心问题.构造了一种在冲突信息环境下基于对策理论的融合模型,以对策理论的相关算法实现了融合中心各类信息的交互决策.实践表明,这一融合模型能有效地解决防空作战决策中各类信息的综合处理问题,具有一定的实用价值.     

一种基于联动的军队网络安全防护体系

网络是军队信息化建设的基础,安全是军队信息化建设的保障。通过分析当前军队网络安全方面所存在的隐患以及防护措施的不足,引入一种基于联动技术的网络安全防护体系。该体系以防火墙为核心,以安全通信协议为基础框架,以PKI/CA体系为安全支撑,能够从整体上对军队网络进行全方位、立体的防护。其逻辑构成为核心安全设备、外围安全设备和安全通信协议3个部分,各种外围安全设备通过不同的安全通信协议如LD- BP、LCSP、ASIP等与核心安全设备(防火墙)进行有机联动,整个体系的安全性可以满足军队对网络安全的要求。     

防御矩阵满足乘法交换律的证明

在使用马尔柯夫链分析多层防御系统的防御效用值时,发现防御矩阵是否满足乘法交换律将关系到多层防御系统变换部署后的防御效用值,因此有必要对防御矩阵是否满足乘法交换律进行证明。首先介绍了防御矩阵的概念、物理意义、重要性质及计算方法,分析了防御矩阵满足乘法交换律的重要意义,最后综合运用数学归纳法和随机矩阵性质证明了防御矩阵满足乘法交换律的事实,此结论无论对于多层防御系统的防御效用值研究还是矩阵理论研究都有一定的指导作用。     

美国海军水面舰艇导弹防空体系分析

分析了美国海军防空作战思想,在此前提下总结出美海军舰空导弹体系主要的作战任务,说明了美海军典型水面舰艇装备舰空导弹的情况,最后阐述了今后美舰空导弹的发展趋势。     

关于二人零和对策混合鞍点的一个新的理论和算法

本文提出了向量优超的概念,给出了二人零和对策等价的定义,得到了二人零和对策等价的两个充要条件及三个充分条件并应用本文的理论,给出了二人零和对策混合鞍点的一个新算法。