Workshop on Applications of Optimization

TBA
The Royal Statistical Society, 12 Errol Street, London EC1Y 8LX

Contents
Course description
Course Programme
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Terms and Conditions
About LINDO Systems

Timberlake Consultants Ltd. (TCL), distributors of quality third-party scientific software in the areas of statistics, econometrics, operational research and mathematics, would like to invite you to attend this course, in Central London. The course is jointly organised by LINDO Systems and TCL.

The Course - Several major advances in optimization and software engineering have occurred in the past few years. These advances provide a major breakthrough in the size and type of industrial problems that can be solved. The course aims to cover major optimization issues and provide a practical approach to their solution using the software systems What'sBest!, LINGO, and LINDO API to find optimal solutions in areas such as:

  • Distribution
  • Transportation
  • Logistics
  • Supply Chains
  • Production planning
  • Portfolios
  • Planning under uncertainty
  • Markets and Auctions
  • Blending
  • Scheduling and Staffing

... and more

Advantages - The course will

  • Review all major optimization modeling methods
  • Provide a practical and systematic approach to optimization applications in the business and financial areas
  • Provide hands-on experience in building optimization models - each delegate is provided with a computer throughout the course
  • Provide an opportunity for you to meet with a panel of experienced modelers to discuss industry-specific applications related to optimization applications

The number of places is limited and early registration is advised.

About the software - The products being demonstrated are developed by LINDO Systems Inc. There are four basic software products:

  • LINDO, the linear programming solver
  • LINDO API, the premier optimization engine
  • LINGO, the linear, non-linear, and integer programming solver with mathematical modeling language
  • What'sBest!, the spreadsheet add-in that solves linear, non-linear, and integer problems.

All of these products, LINDO, the LINDO API, LINGO, and What'sBest!, are bundled into one convenient package to form the Solver Suite.

Who should attend - Professionals requiring to use optimization tools in industry, academia or for teaching.

The speaker:

The course will be led by Linus Schrage, Professor Emeritus of Operations Research and Operations Management at the Graduate School of Business of the University of Chicago. Prof. Schrage developed the LINDO software program and co-founded LINDO Systems in 1980. He has consulted widely on production scheduling, distribution, auction design, and other related problems.

Cost - The course fees are:

1st Participant £850+VAT=£977.50
2nd Participant+ £750+VAT=£862.50

Discounts are available for participants from academic institutions. Please enquire for details.

The cost includes course materials, course dinner, lunch, refreshments and the use of computers. The number of delegates is restricted. Please register early to guarantee your place. Further instructions will be sent with the joining instructions. If you need assistance in locating hotel accommodation in the area, request the help of our Training Department.

Agenda
(may be subject to change)

The Methodology

  • The concept of optimization
    • Overview of applications of optimization and “solvers”.
    • Converting any “What If” approach to an optimization model with the “A, B, C’s of Optimization”
    • New technologies in solvers: global optimization.
  • Introduction to software for solving optimization models
    • What'sBest: A large scale solver for spreadsheet based models.
    • LINGO: Complex models with a modeling language
      • Advantages and disadvantages of spreadsheet vs. modeling language based models. Scalability, auditability.
      • Getting the advantages of both spreadsheets and modeling languages: Interfacing LINGO with spreadsheets and SQL data bases.
    • LINDO API: A callable library for high performance, tightly integrated web-based applications.
      • Interfacing with C/C++, Visual Basic, and Java
  • Concepts of optimization continued
    • Decision variables, resources, implied prices and opportunity costs.
    • Accurately modeling sunk, fixed, variable, and joint costs.
  • Exploiting Integer Programming(IP)
    • Using IP to efficiently represent
    • Go/NoGo decisions, quantity discounts, minimum batch sizes, and other combinatorial and logical considerations.
  • Planning under uncertainty with optimization models,
    • An example from the energy industry,
    • The concept of a scenario,
    • How to generate representative scenarios
    • Should we model more than two periods, and how?

Applications by Industry

  • Distribution, Transportation, Logistics, and Supply Chains
    • FTL and LTL routing
  • Production planning and scheduling
    • MRP with capacity constraints
  • Portfolio Models for investment
    • How to represent uncertainty
    • The Markowitz approach,
    • Representing discrete investments,
    • Transaction costs and taxes.
  • Auctions and Optimization in electricity, transportation and other markets
    • How to get better prices by buying or selling bundles of goods.
    • Using an LP to choose a good set of prices so that everyone is happy
  • Staffing and Scheduling
    • Converting forecasts into staffing needs,
  • Global Optimization with applications in Engineering design

All participants will receive a copy of the comprehensive, 570 page text, Optimization Modeling with LINGO.

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Terms and Conditions

Registration closes 5 calendar days prior to the start of the course.

Cancellations:

  • full fee returned for cancellations made over 28 calendar days prior to start of the course
  • half-fee returned for cancellations made 14 calendar days prior to he start of the course
  • no fee returned for cancellations made less than 14 calendar days prior to the start of the course.

    Payment of course fees required prior to the course start date