Logistics & Optimization

Optimization is a very broad field in terms of the situations it solves and its applications. The central objective of optimization in most areas is to improve the utilization of resources applied to a process. In this regard, optimization can be applied to industrial processes such as product manufacturing, the supply chain (receiving or distributing products, movement of products within a single plant, etc.), packaging, warehouse management, etc. Optimization can also be applied in other areas such as freight or passenger transport, and in various activities carried out in ports, such as the order in which ships dock at a pier, the loading and unloading of containers, the movement of containers within a single container yard, etc.

At ITI, we have studied a variety of optimization problems, mostly focused on industry, but also on other activities such as freight and passenger transport. In some cases, such as the optimization of industrial processes or materials transport, ITI has developed commercial tools that implement these developments ( Foreplanner and Routing Maps ). In addition, we have participated in several projects funded by private companies, national grants, grants from the Valencian Community, and projects funded by the European Union.

Applications in the field of defense could be:

• Optimizing space usage in different types of containers (port containers, pallets, or any container of any size). Packaging and container issues are useful in the supply chain when packages of different sizes need to be placed in a container for delivery.

• Route optimization for special vehicles, taking into account the terrain and types of special vehicles (very long, tall, or heavy vehicles that cannot pass through any road). This type of optimization can be used for supply, for example, but also to improve/speed up the evacuation of citizens and organize escape and distribution routes simultaneously.

• Location and relocation of distribution/storage centers .

• Optimizing the utilization of manufacturing resources , including personnel and machinery. This is a bit more general and can be applied to any type of manufacturing that involves finite resources or, for example, specialized personnel.