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SOCIETAL IMPACT

INFORMS members are committed to improving society. This section highlights some of these critical works from the past 25 years. We also recognize the contributions of INFORMS Fellows, Nobel Laureates, and members of the National Academies.

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Operations Research: Billions and Billions of Benefits!

Jeffrey M. Alden

Published Online: Summer 2020
2020 Edelman Gala book

Guns or Butter: Decision Support for Determining the Size and Shape of the South African National Defense Force

Published Online:

Interfaces

    Abstract
    In January of 1994, the chief of the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) asked the question: “In the absence of a conventional military threat, what should the size and shape of the SANDF be?” A joint SANDF and Deloitte and Touche team supported ...
General Motors Increases Its Production Throughput

Published Online:

Interfaces

    Abstract
    In the late 1980s, General Motors Corporation (GM) initiated a long-term project to predict and improve the throughput performance of its production lines to increase productivity throughout its manufacturing operations and provide GM with a strategic ...
Operations Research Advances Cancer Therapeutics

Published Online:

Interfaces

    Abstract
    Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), the world's oldest private cancer center, seeks next-generation cancer treatment advances to enhance its ability to treat patients effectively by improving care and reducing costs. Using operations research ...
Solving Real-Life Railroad Blocking Problems

Published Online:

Interfaces

    Abstract
    Each major US railroad ships millions of cars over its network annually. To reduce the intermediate handlings of shipments as they travel over the railroad network, a set of shipments is classified (or grouped together) at a railroad yard to create a ...
Managing Inventory in Supply Chains with Nonstationary Demand

Published Online:

Interfaces

    Abstract
    Many companies experience nonstationary demand because of short product life cycles, seasonality, customer buying patterns, or other factors. We present a practical model for managing inventory in a supply chain facing stochastic, nonstationary demand. ...
INDEVAL Develops a New Operating and Settlement System Using Operations Research

Published Online:

Interfaces

    Abstract
    INDEVAL, Mexico's central securities depository for all financial securities, implemented a new operating system to increase its operational efficiency and comply with international securities-settlement best practices. INDEVAL used operations research ...
Economically Efficient Standards to Protect the Netherlands Against Flooding

Published Online:

Interfaces

    Abstract
    In the Netherlands, flood protection is a matter of national survival. In 2008, the Second Delta Committee recommended increasing legal flood protection standards at least tenfold to compensate for population and economic growth since 1953; this ...
Matching Supply and Demand: Delayed Two-Phase Distribution at Yedioth Group—Models, Algorithms, and Information Technology

Published Online:

Interfaces

    Abstract
    This paper details collaboration between the distribution organization within the Yedioth Group, the largest media group in Israel, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, ...
Polio Eradicators Use Integrated Analytical Models to Make Better Decisions

Published Online:

Interfaces

    Abstract
    Achieving global polio eradication requires that global stakeholders coordinate and cooperate to invest human and financial resources in interventions that prevent virus transmission. Reaching this goal depends on effective tools and interventions, and ...
Identifying Risks and Mitigating Disruptions in the Automotive Supply Chain

Published Online:

Interfaces

    Abstract
    Firms are exposed to a variety of low-probability, high-impact risks that can disrupt their operations and supply chains. These risks are difficult to predict and quantify; therefore, they are difficult to manage. As a result, managers may suboptimally ...
UPS Optimizes Delivery Routes

Published Online:

Interfaces

    Abstract
    UPS, the leading logistics provider in the world, and long known for its penchant for efficiency, embarked on a journey to streamline and modernize its pickup and delivery operations in 2003. This journey resulted in a suite of systems, including a meta-...
Operations Research Enables Auction to Repurpose Television Spectrum for Next-Generation Wireless Technologies

Published Online:

INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics

    Abstract
    The authors describe a market-based two-stage auction that the FCC, with assistance from researchers from universities and consulting firms, developed. The two-sided auction repurposed 84 MHz of spectrum from conventional over-the-air TV to wireless uses ...
Analytics and Optimization Reduce Sewage Overflows to Protect Community Waterways in Kentucky

Published Online:

INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics

    Abstract
    In partnership with Tetra Tech, the Louisville and Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District in Kentucky pioneered the application of software that relies on sewer-monitoring data, weather forecasting, and data analytics for system optimization. ...
The Inmate Assignment and Scheduling Problem and Its Application in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections

Published Online:

Interfaces

    Abstract
    The authors developed a hierarchical, multiobjective mixed-integer linear optimization model, which assigns inmates to correctional institutions and schedules their programs, while considering best practices and all legal restrictions.
Analytics and Bikes: Riding Tandem with Motivate to Improve Mobility

Published Online:

INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics

    Abstract
    The authors developed new optimization models, characterized their mathematical structure, and used the insights gained to design models and analytics to manage operations for bike-sharing systems and improve their performance.
From Superstorms to Factory Fires: Managing Unpredictable Supply-Chain Disruptions

David Simchi-Levi, William Schmidt, Yehua Wei

Published: January/February 2014
Harvard Business Review

25 YEARS OF INFORMS

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