Operations Research in Egypt

The Scientific method of decision making

In this increasingly competitive business environment, it is becoming more and more essential to be able to leverage all the resources you possibly can.

That is where Operations research can come into play.

What is Operations Research?

Operations research in one sentence can be described as the scientific application of advanced analytics to tackle managerial problems.

Operations research interlaces with a range of different disciplines, such as artificial intelligence, statistical analysis, computer science, management science, optimization theory, network analysis and game theory.

All of these different disciplines are utilized in the pursuit of one outcome;

the improvement of managerial decision making.

Why implement Operations research?

Operations research with its multidisciplinary approach and broad applicability allow it to tackle a large variety of contemporary problems in a range of segments:

• Supply chain management      
• Pricing and revenue management
• Financial engineering
• Market design
• Scheduling & Staffing
• Natural resource management
• Healthcare management

And much more.

As a prerequisite for success; the significant majority of large firms apply operational research tools.

We can see the success of practical application of operational research in the following industries:

• Airline industry to improve “yield” through dynamic price optimization
• Automotive industry to optimize production planning
• Consumer goods industry for supply chain optimization
• Oil industry for optimizing product mix
• Financial services for portfolio optimization
• Transportation for traffic simulation

Operations research projects can be broken down into three main segments:

• Optimization: the goal here is to optimize and achieve the best performance under the current conditions. Optimization can involve comparing, narrowing, and choosing the best fit out of a range of potential options.
• Simulation: the goal here is to test out hypothetical solutions before actually applying them, and involves the building of mathematical models and computational programming.
• Forecasting: the goal here is to be able to make better predictions and gain valuable insights, this involves using statistical methods and mathematical algorithms to uncover patterns.

Nature of Operations Research

Operational research focuses on the development of the appropriate mathematic models and techniques used to analyze and solve for different problems under different conditions.

Over the years a range of tools have been developed, each contributing to a different class of problems.

Thus, once a managerial problem is identified as belonging to a specific class of “problem”, all relevant mathematical models, and techniques available in the toolbox for this particular class can be used to study, analyze, and hopefully solve for, the issue at hand.

In this context, we can view operations research as a type of open-source collection of mathematical models and techniques used to solve complex managerial problems.

Some of the most well-developed tools and techniques being:

• Linear, integer, nonlinear, and dynamic programming
• Network optimization
• Decision analysis and multi-criteria decision making
• Stochastic processes and queuing theory
• Inventory control
• Simulation
• Heuristics, AI, genetic algorithms, and neural networks.

Operations Research Methodology:

The problem-solving process can be broken down into the following steps:

• Clarify the objective that you want to achieve.

• Identifying the key drivers of the problem that needs to be solved. These driving forces should be mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive.

• Classify each issue into one of the major problem classes that Operations research has already established tools and techniques for.

• Construct the model around the problem, using the relevant general problem class information, and real-world variables applicable to you.

• Test each hypothetical solution on the model and analyze its success.

• The final and most important step; implementation of the actual solution.

Operations Research in Egypt

Operations Research in Egypt as a service is completely undeserved and neglected.

many businesses in Egypt run with a “good enough” mentality, stuck in the past and pushing the new to the side.

This mentality must be addressed in order to unlock the potential value locked away in many Egyptian SMEs through operations research.

To fix this issue, people must become educated on what operations research is and how it can add value to their organizations.

& I look forward to doing exactly that!

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I look forward to seeing you succeed.