Optimization Modeling for Logistics: Options and Implementations

Logistics optimization has significantly grown in popularity over the last few decades. Improvements in computing power, modeling software, and the willingness of companies to invest time in the modeling effort have allowed models that were once too unwieldy to solve to optimality to be solved quickly. This has led to a more wide‐spread recognition by logistics managers of the potential advantages of using optimization. The scope of logistics optimization in companies and organizations has expanded to address strategic, tactical, operational, and collaborative decision making. Spreadsheets, an analytical tool familiar to managers, have played a crucial role in the expanded modeling efforts of companies. Although optimization’s role in logistics has grown tremendously, there still are areas that remain to be explored that will allow it to achieve an even larger and more successful role in the management of companies. Additionally, there are some models that are still too large or too complex to currently solve to optimality, despite the advances in computing power and modeling/solving software.     

Determinants of restaurant's owners/managers selection of wines to be offered on the wine list

The aim of the paper is to better understand wine list design in restaurants in four countries with very different wine cultures. An interview protocol was developed and administered to 286 restaurants across the four countries (France, Australia, USA and China). The interview questionnaire included a Best/Worst methodology to identify the most/least important factors influencing the restaurant's owner/manager's selection of wine for the wine list. One of the most important reasons for selecting wine across most countries is ‘to match wine with the food menu’. There were few major differences between countries, but a latent class analysis found four clusters that differed significantly with membership also differing between countries. The cluster analysis also indicated that while some restaurateurs are more brand-driven, others value local wine or its matching with the food menu.     

The cost of quality in existing housing: Estimates from an implicit markets model

Rosen's implicit markets approach is used to model and estimate the cost of improving the state of repair of rental housing in existing structures. Particular attention is devoted to potential errors in the measurement of state of repair and to the inconsistent estimates of supply and demand parameters implied by Rosen's original econometric technique. Cost estimates imply that improvements in low-income housing could be provided much less expensively in existing housing than by either public new construction or the Section 8 existing housing program.     

Regional Economic Impacts of Fusarium Head Blight in Wheat and Barley

Fusarium Head Blight is a fungus affecting wheat and barley in the upper Midwest region of the United States. The purpose of this study is to estimate the direct and secondary regional economic impacts of Fusarium Head Blight infestations from 1998 to 2000. Cumulative direct production and price impacts from Fusarium Head Blight in hard red spring, soft red winter, durum wheat, and barley are estimated at $871 million over the period, with secondary economic losses of $1.8 billion. The total impacts of $2.7 billion were concentrated in North Dakota and Minnesota, which accounted for 55% of total losses over the period.     

QUADRATIC SINGLE AND MULTI-COMMODITY MODELS OF SPATIAL EQUILIBRIUM: A SIMPLIFIED EXPOSITION

This paper presents a somewhat simplified exposition of quadratic single and multi-commodity models of spatial equilibrium. The intent is to facilitate their understanding by students and researchers. A graphical model is presented which illustrates the necessary conditions for spatial equilibrium. Then single commodity programming models with, first, quantities and, subsequently, prices in the decision domain are constructed. The equivalence of the graphical and programming models, as well as application of the necessary conditions as constraints in the programming models, are ilustrated. Finally, a multi-commodity model with asymetric demand and supply coefficients is constructed as a primal-dual formation in which the constraints are the necessary conditions for spatial equilibrium.
Cet exposé présnte une interprétation assez simplifiée de modéles quadratiques d'équilibre spatial à produits individuels et multiples. Son dessein est de faciliter aux étudiants et aux rechercheurs leur compréhension de ces modèles. Un modèle graphique qui montre les conditions nécessaires à I'équilibre spatial est présenté. Ensuite, des modèles de programmation à produits individuels sont construits avec, premièrement, des quantités dans le domaine de la prise des décisions et, par la suite, avec des prix dans ce mème domaine. L'équivalence des modèles graphiques et des modèles de programmation, aussi bien que l'application des conditions nécessaires comme contraintes dans les modèles de programmation, y sont illustrés. Enfin, un modél à produits multiples, avec coefficient asymétriques de demande et d'offre, est construit comme formulation unique/double dans laquelle les contraintes sont les conditions nécessaires à l'équilibre spatial.     

Spatial analysis of the U.S. lodging industry, 1963–1977

Data from the U.S. Department of Commerce Census of Business in 1963, 1972, and 1977 were compared on a state by state basis and by standard metropolitan statistical areas in order to analyze the spatial growth points of the U.S. lodging industry. The results point to major lodging growth areas in the Sunbelt states with central Florida, Las Vegas, Nevada and Hawaii as outstanding nodes of development. Metropolitan lodging growth has taken place in the Sunbelt cities with populations of 100,000 to one million, with above average growth in those cities located in the coastal zone.     

China–US trade: implications on conflicts

ABSTRACT

In this study, we examine various aspects of China’s trade, the U.S.’ trade, and the bilateral trade between the two countries. The analysis of each aspect has direct and indirect implications on trade conflicts between the two countries. We focus on important factors, such as the growth of trade, import penetration, increased competitiveness of Chinese firms, comparative advantages of Chinese goods, China’s WTO entry and its compliance, and bilateral trade imbalance. While each of the factors can lead to trade frictions, individual factors will not have led to a large-scale trade war. These factors converge within a brief period and thus can be considered the China shock, thereby making other countries’ adjustments to their economic structures difficult. Therefore, trade frictions are inevitable.     

Price competitiveness of tourism packages to Australia: Beyond the “Big Mac” index

One issue facing any country or region concerns its price competitiveness as a package tour destination. One method of measuring this is to use what in other contexts has been referred to as the Big Mac approach. The “Big Mac” is a simple product with ingredients in fixed proportions, whereas the tourism product is a very complex one comprising different components depending on tourist expenditure patterns. There is no equivalent tourism product offered across countries, as the nature of the product is tailored to the origin market, expenditure levels and the length of the trip involved. The key issue is that of how to standardize the products being compared, so as to determine their relative price competitiveness. A method of constructing price competitiveness indexes, developed by the authors, can be applied to develop measures of the price competitiveness of different tour packages. This paper has three aims: To set down the essence of the preferred approach to measuring price competitiveness, noting its advantages and limitations; to employ this approach to construct price competitiveness indexes for package tours to Australia from Japan and the USA; and to indicate areas for farther research into the price competitiveness of package tourism worldwide.