Common Optimization Problems
An optimization problem is an abstract mathematical problem that appears in many different business contexts and across many different industries. Once a business problem has been identified, the next step is to identify one or more optimization problems types that must be solved as a result.
Overview of common optimization problem types
| Optimization Problem Type | Example Uses | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Travelling Salesman | Planning, Logistics, and the production of microchips | The travelling salesman problem (TSP) asks the following question: Given a list of cities and the distances between each pair of cities, what is the shortest possible route that visits each city exactly once and returns to the origin city? |
| Vehicle Routing | … | … |
| Capacitated Arc Routing | ||
| Network Design | ||
| Network Flow | ||
| Multicommodity Network Flow | ||
| Matching | ||
| Knapsack | ||
| Set Covering | ||
| Bin Packing | ||
| Cutting Stock | ||
| Unit Commitment | ||
| Markowitz Portfolio Selection | ||
| Lot Sizing | ||
| Facility Location | ||
| Quadratic Assignment | ||
| Open Pit Mining | ||
| Blending/Mixing | ||
| Flow Shop Scheduling | ||
| Job Shop Scheduling | ||
| Open Shop Scheduling | ||
| Combinatorial Auction | ||
| Linear Regression |