SPEAKER: Professor Jacek Zak

Professor Jacek Zak is Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Logistics at Poznan University of Technology in Poland. He is a highly recognised international expert in transportation, logistics and operations management. Professor Zak is also a consultant and Board member in several national and international companies. He graduated from Poznan University of Technology (1987) and Adam Mickiewicz University (1991) in Poznan, Poland. In 1992-93 he completed postgraduate managerial studies at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in general management and operations management. In 1995 he received his PhD from Poznan University of Technology (program sponsored by Harvard Business School) and in 2005 his post doctoral degree from Warsaw University of Technology, Poland.

Professor Zak participated in roughly 100 national and international research and consulting projects (including Polish-American cooperations and EU projects). He has been published in many prestigious international journals and has developed training programs which have been used in company training worldwide. Professor Zak has received many national and international rewards and distinctions including the JW Fulbright Scholarship. Professor Zak is also a distinguished scholar of the Japanese Government and a trainee of the Volvo Car Corporation Foundation. He has been awarded a prestigious scholarship of the Polish Science Foundation and the Scientific Reward of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He also received a national reward of the Polish Minister of Infrastructure for the best academic handbook in transportation.

He has been invited as a Visiting Professor to more than 30 academic institutions in countries including: USA, Canada, Mexico, Korea, India, China, UK, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and Italy.

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Tuesday, August 9

Multiple Criteria Decision Making / Aiding in Transportation and Logistics

The presentation focuses on methodological principles of Multiple Criteria Decision Making / Aiding (MCDM/A) and their application in the fields of transportatin and logistics. It explains how to solve complex, often unstructured, multiple criteria decision problems that arise in transportation / logistics. The presentation is divided into two sections, including: 1. Theoretical background of MCDM/A; 2. Practical application of MCDM/A methodology in Transportation / Logistics.

The first part comprises historical overview, basic definitions and methodological rules of MCDM/A. The multiple criteria decision making / aiding process – its major phases and players – is described in this section. The first part provides also classification and major features of multiple criteria decision problems as well as the description of corresponding MCDM/A methods that allow for solving these problems. The rules of solving different categories of multiple criteria decision problems are demonstrated.

In the second part extended analysis of 2-3 real life case studies is carried. The analysis includes: verbal description and mathematical formulation of the decision problem, modeling of DM's preferences, selection of MCDM/A method, solution procedure – computational experiments and presentation of their results. The case studies present the solution procedure of at least one multiple criteria ranking problem and one multiple criteria choice (optimization) problem.

The following case studies can be demonstrated:

♦ Redesign of the distribution system. Constructing the optimal network based on single and bi-criteria optimization. Application of exact algorithms.
♦ Redesign of the complex transportation process combined with the crew size optimization. Application of multiple criteria metaheuristics and multiple criteria interactive methods.
♦ Multiple objective evaluation and ranking of the common carriers - transportation / logistics service providers. The comparison of different multiple criteria ranking methods.
♦ Solving a multiple criteria fleet selection problem – ranking the vehicles and choosing the most suitable ones for certain transportation jobs.
♦ Solving a multiple criteria location problem – finding the proper location of such facilities as logistics centers, bus terminals or sport events fun zones.

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Register by Thursday August 4.

Cost: FREE to LAA members. Book directly with ITLS.

Registrations: info@itls.usyd.edu.au