Primäres Ziel dieser Arbeit war die Entwicklung neuer heuristischer Lösungsverfahren für die logistische Tourenplanung bei restringierendem Anhängereinsatz (engl. Truck and Trailer Routing Problem). Kennzeichnend für dieses kombinatorische Optimierungsproblem ist, dass Fahrzeuge einen...

In this dissertation, I developed a unified framework for the modeling, analysis, and computation of solutions to both international financial problems with intermediation as well as to global supply chains through the medium of networks. The framework that I developed can handle as many...

Recent technological advances in sensor and computer technology allow the observation of business and industrial processes at fairly high frequencies. For example, data used for monitoring critical parameters of industrial furnaces, conveyor belts or chemical processes may be sampled every...

We study the effect that consumer returns have on the coordination of a two-echelon supply chain with a single manufacturer and a single retailer that faces stochastic demand and a certain proportion of consumer returns for a single product. Returned goods command a full refund and result in...

Network systems, including transportation and logistic systems, electric power generation and distribution networks as well as financial networks, provide the critical infrastructure for the functioning of our societies and economies. The understanding of the dynamic behavior of such systems is...

Component obsolescence in the "high-tech" electronics industry has become a problem that cannot be ignored. Although recent attention has been given to component obsolescence, in general this issue is still dealt with reactively. This often results in sustainment of a long-life system such as...

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is a multi-criteria data analysis methodology introduced by Charnes, Cooper, and Rhodes in 1978. Since that time, it has proven to be a valuable analysis tool for strategic, policy, and operational decision problems. Its primary use is to conduct performance...

Effective decision-making is a key prerequisite for a successful organization. Today's organizations are large and continue to grow in size and scope. This development leads to higher complexity in managing and controlling organizations. Consequentially, selecting the right course of action has...

Protection of the environment is among the most pressing public policy challenges and will continue to be so long into the future. Pollution, specifically, has played a pivotal and substantial role in the degradation of the environment. Although numerous analytical techniques and computational...

According to game theory, dominant strategy of Prisoner’s Dilemma game is defecting. Since online trading between two strangers falls in the realm of a Prisoner’s Dilemma, failure should be the only logical conclusion of such electronic commerce situation. Traders are less likely to...