Metaheuristics for Logistics

Conclusion

I would venture to draw an analogy between metaheuristics and the automobile. Metaheuristics are methods that can help many engineers in many fields. In the field of logistics, where the studied systems are complex, where problems are not defined with certainty, where decisions are based on many factors that not always can be modeled, the search for optimal solutions does not always make great sense. Very often, the implementation of a simple metaheuristic will amply suffice. Such metaheuristics are relatively easy to implement and we already have seen that they are quite effective. It is the car that you and I take to go to work or to go on holidays. Robust, reliable, it meets the essential needs of everyone.

And then there is the motorsport world. In the mad race of technology; the search for the moment that will make all the difference is always on. It is the academic world in all its glory. Operational researchers who imagine new resolution methods, new neighborhoods and algorithmic tricks continue in their quest for the last percentage gains. The academic is to the engineer or to the manufacturer what the sports car is to the car. It allows developing methods that are increasingly reliable, increasingly reusable and increasingly accessible.

It is in this spirit of making metaheuristics available that I conceived this book. The first part is for all those wishing to explore the world of metaheuristics and combinatorial optimization. It provides easy access to these ...