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ABSTRACT
This paper focuses on coupling of simulation and optimization techniques, both representing an integrated part of modern design and decision-making support tools in management sciences, industry, and engineering. After revealing the different possible connotations of the concept of simulation optimization coupling, we explicitly describe the integration of two commercial-off-the-shelf industry-standard software tools ARENA and CPLEX, respectively. In addition, the coupling of ARENA with the add-on OptQuest is also discussed, in order to highlight the distinction between two different manners of putting into complementarity simulation and optimization tools, namely simulation encapsulated into optimization and, vice-versa, optimization encapsulated into simulation.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to professor Claude Yugma for his helpful suggestions and valuable discussions about the coupling of simulation and optimization.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
3. Note that, the VBA blocks are only available in the Professional Edition of ARENA.
4. CPLEX 9.0 and later versions include a .NET API.
6. OptQuest supports optimization models with constraints. Linear constraints define linear relationships among controls, while nonlinear constraints can be only formulated using simulation responses (i.e. output variables, whose values are determined by the black box evaluator) [Citation41]. On the other words, uncertainties or other nonlinearities cannot be explicitly defined into an optimization model, their handling is only possible via a simulation evaluator.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Valeria Borodin
Valeria Borodin is an associate professor at the Center of Microelectronics in Provence of the Ecole des Mines de Saint-Etienne, CNRS LIMOS UMR 6158. She received in 2014 her Ph.D. degree in Optimization and Safety of Systems from the University of Technology of Troyes, France. Her primary research interest focuses on quantitative operations management at different levels of decision making.
Jean Bourtembourg
Jean Bourtembourg is a crop production manager at the SCARA, a cooperative society situated in the region of Arcis sur Aube, France. His main activities consists in helping adherent farmers to manage their supply chain and supervising crop reception and storage.
Faicel Hnaien
Faicel Hnaien is an associate professor at the University of Technology of Troyes, France. He held a Ph.D. degree in industrial engineering from the Ecole des Mines de Saint-Etienne. His research focuses on scheduling problems and supply chain management.
Nacima Labadie
Nacima Labadie is a full professor at the University of Technology of Troyes, France. She received her Ph.D. degree in Optimisation and Systems Safety from The same university, in 2003. Her research interests lie in combinatorial optimization field and focus on logistics and vehicle routing problems.