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Industrial Research And Consultancy Centre

Supply chain analysis: Combining theory with practice

Supply chains are distributed and decentralised in nature, with multiple player operating in a dynamic and stochastic environment. Activities and decisions are becoming increasingly customer-centric, and there is a deluge of data. However, extracting meaningful information and prescribing effective real-time decision using the data is non-trivial.Our current works are as follows:

Hybrid simulation methodologies for analysing complex systems

System dynamics methodology, discrete-event simulation, and agent based models are powerful techniques to model, understand and analyse complex stochastic and dynamic systems. Hybrid methods that combine simulation with optimisation approaches assist evidence-based robust policy decisions. The applications range across supply chain, transportation, socio-economic and healthcare systems.

Our current research activities are described below:

Algorithms and software for hard optimisation problems

Our group is developing new techniques for solving difficult mixed integer nonlinear and combinatorial optimisation problems (MINLPs). These problems arise in a wide variety of scientific, engineering and business applications ranging from portfolio optimisation to design of logistic networks of a supply chain, scheduling of industrial operations and optimal layout of industrial facilities. Many of these problems are provably hard – all known algorithms to solve these problems take exponential amount of time in the size of the input.

Performance limits of delay constrained communication systems

Classical results in information theory focus on coding theorems which provide sharp guarantees for reliable communication and data compression when one allows for arbitrary delays for achieving a desired probability of error. But in real systems such as multimedia communication systems, delay constraints are fundamental and non-negotiable. For such delay constrained systems, except in rare cases, determining the optimal system performance is a highly intractable problem. Prior to our work, performance limits were derived using disparate techniques and arguments.

Regulating algorithmic high frequency trading and collocation in the Indian securities market: A quantitative approach

The Indian securities market has seen an meteoric increase in algorithmic trading that involves the use of computerised algorithms for determining trading decisions. This usually takes the form of high frequency trading wherein orders are issued with an extremely high frequency. This has been further facilitated by location of servers of traders in physical proximity of the exchange (called colocation). There is concern among regulators worldwide about the impact of algorithmic trading.Prof.

Multi-stage and multi-objective process optimisation

A common problem in process design is the selection of optimal operating condition, which involves considering simultaneously multiple response (output) variables. This type of problem is known as multiple response optimisation (MRO) problems. Multiple response problems are quite prevalent across various disciplines of science and engineering. In this context, responses are the quality characteristics which attribute to the quality of process or product. In this context, responses may be catogorised into three different types, viz.

Game theoretic mechanism design for group decision making

Game theory analyses multi-person decision making where each agent’s welfare is dependent on actions of another agent. We work on game theoretic mechanism design that seeks to construct institutions that lead to desirable outcomes in society. An example of such an institution would be the ‘Boston School Choice’ mechanism that is used to admit students in US public school system. Apart from this, we also study formation bidding rings at auctions.

What heights on ladder of international competitiveness can your firm plan to climb

India may climb in top 20 in country competitiveness ranks, and opportunities to break-out in technological competitiveness seem promising as focal firms of Indian origin (FFIOs) build capabilities for next levels on stages of international competitiveness (IC). However, international competitiveness in emerging industries is less satisfactory (Fig.

Perceptions in Supply Chain Management

SCM is of course, the management of flow of goods from supplier to transporter to production department to sales and eventually to customer. The objective of SCM is to reduce overall costs by introducing effective coordination and cooperation across echelons. Several sophisticated analytical tools and optimization software solutions exist in the marketplace and academic journals to help organizations meet this objective.