A Heuristic Approach for Big Bucket Production Planning Problems

Kerem Akartunali (keremacae.wisc.edu)
Andrew J. Miller (amillerengr.wisc.edu)

Abstract: Multi-level production planning problems in which multiple items compete for the same resources frequently occur in practice, yet remain daunting in their difficulty to solve. In this paper we propose a heuristic framework that can generate high quality feasible solutions quickly for various kinds of lot-sizing problems. In addition, unlike many other heuristics, it generates high quality lower bounds using strong formulations, and its simple scheme allows it to be easily implemented in the XPRESS-MOSEL modeling language. Extensive computational results from widely used test sets that include a variety of problems demonstrate the efficiency of the heuristic, particularly for challenging problems.

Keywords: Production Planning, Integer Programming, Heuristics, Relax-and-Fix, Strong Formulations

Category 1: Applications -- OR and Management Sciences (Production and Logistics )

Citation: In press, European Journal of Operational Research. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejor.2007.11.033

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Entry Submitted: 10/04/2006
Entry Accepted: 10/04/2006
Entry Last Modified: 12/18/2007

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