Operations Research is practiced throughout IBM, with the Research Division providing a focal point for activities in both the science and application of this field. IBM researchers have produced groundbreaking work in many areas of OR research. These include, for example, work in integer programming and cutting plane algorithms (Ralph Gomory), linear programming and decomposition methods (Frank Wolfe), graph theory and linear programming (Alan Hoffman) and computational approaches in integer programming (Ellis Johnson).

IBM Research focuses on developing and applying OR tools. Significant effort in algorithm development concentrates on optimization, queuing theory, and agent-based systems. Recent application areas include supply chain modeling and optimization, manufacturing planning and scheduling, service industry resource planning and scheduling, airline optimization, and forecasting. New initiatives include modeling and software environments for collaborative planning and electronic commerce. Finally, in steps unprecedented in the OR community, IBM Research has taken the initiative in developing open source OR software.

Some of our efforts in algorithm development seek to improve the understanding of core OR methodology. For example, we develop tools that are incorporated in advanced mathematical software products. Work in this area focuses on three main topics. The first is high-performance computational kernels consisting of basic scientific algorithmic building blocks such as matrix multiplication or fast Fourier transform, on serial and parallel hardware platforms. The second involves advanced optimization software for solving linear, integer and nonlinear programming problems. This effort has often required development of new optimization algorithms. The third is direct solution of sparse linear systems and includes developing novel order algorithms and fast serial and parallel algorithms for factoring sparse matrices. This research has resulted in Watson Symmetric Sparse Matrix Package (WSSMP), a high-performance, robust, and easy to use software package.

The Asset Management Tool (AMT), software developed at IBM Research, is an OR application in supply chain management. AMT is an advanced supply chain optimization and simulation tool that helps identify optimal inventory policies. AMT uses simulation, animation, graphical process modeling, analytical performance optimization, and activity-based costing to provide quantitative analysis of extended supply chains. It aids in evaluating supply chains on the basis of financial tradeoffs associated with various configurations and operational policies. AMT has been used within IBM business units as well as in external reseller organizations. In 1999, INFORMS, the international OR professional society, awarded the AMT project with the prestigious Franz Edelman Award for outstanding application of OR methodology.

The IBM Journey Management Library (JML) was developed as part of our focus on using OR to develop industry solutions. It provides a set of reusable modules and templates that work together with a simulation tool to describe passenger processes and related new technologies. It helps airlines improve customers' travel experiences by finding ways to reduce customer waiting-time, eliminate system bottlenecks, and improve customer service. IBM Research teamed with Air Canada to develop simulation models of ticketing, check-in, and baggage handling. These models were used to preview the effect of new technologies on customer service, and to identify potential improvements on system performance and customer wait times.

Watson Implosion Technology (WIT) is a software tool developed at IBM Research that aids in constrained materials management and production planning. Input to WIT is a list of demands for products, supplies for product components, and a multi-level bill-of-manufacturing (BOM). Typically, the list of demands for products is much smaller than the list of components required for these products. WIT "implodes" the list of supplies of components, via the BOM, into a relatively small list of feasible shipments of demanded products. Judicious trade-offs must be made between different demands, given limited supplies, to best satisfy manufacturing objectives. WIT is used internally at some IBM divisions, and has also been deployed at external customers around the world.

Work in the area of e-commerce includes research in, for example, internet trading systems, development of e-marketplaces, and trust establishment. In one application of internet trading systems, IBM researchers created an electronic trading system where suppliers post offers for a product on the website, and buyers post their needs for that product. A third party company maintains the trading system and matches suppliers with buyers. Buyers and sellers can remain anonymous, as the third party company manages the entire transaction and product delivery. In the area of e-marketplaces, IBM researchers are investigating ways to design and develop autonomous electronic agents working on behalf of buyers, sellers, and third parties in open electronic markets. The aim is to completely automate trade. Finally, one criterion necessary for successfully conducting e-business is to trust the parties involved in the contract. Trust Establishment, software developed in IBM's Haifa research laboratory, incorporates a new approach for mapping strangers to predefined business roles, so that parties who are unfamiliar with each other can confidently conduct e-business.

Common Optimization Interface for Operations Research (COIN) is an IBM Research initiative to spur the development of open source software for the OR community. The ultimate goal is to develop high-quality, high-performance, secure code for OR. This initiative can dramatically increase the speed with which OR models, algorithms, and research can be deployed. It will also allow researchers to concentrate on their domains of expertise, while providing them access to professional code. The goal is for IBM Research to relinquish management of COIN to the OR community at large.

Efforts to ensure that our research remains relevant and important, both to the OR research community as well as to companies using and implementing Operations Research practices, are ongoing. We attend academic and industry conferences and workshops and remain in constant contact with both internal IBM divisions as well as external customers to gauge current research challenges to the OR community.

CS Brochure 2000

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