The Wolfram Solution for Operations Research
Simulate your processes with ready-to-deploy, fully interactive models using a combination of powerful computation, analysis and dynamic report generation—all in one system, with one integrated workflow.
Underlying the Wolfram operations research solution are state-of-the-art local and global optimization techniques, sophisticated graph algorithms and efficient random number generation.
- The Wolfram Edge
- How Wolfram Compares
- Key Capabilities
Wolfram technologies include thousands of built-in functions and curated data on many topics that let you:
- Model and optimize supply chains
- Design factory layouts for efficient flow of materials
- Solve dynamic vehicle-allocation problems
- Maximize airline revenue using leg-based and network-based seat inventory management
- Optimize maritime transport operations such as ship routing, scheduling and fleet utilization
- Perform schedule planning of aircraft and crew members and operations of aviation infrastructure such as airports and air traffic
- Develop computer simulations to minimize outpatient wait times in hospitals, explore queueing networks in material handling systems and more
- Analyze queueing systems and perform Markov process computations
- Perform effective project management using critical path analysis or PERT techniques
- Improve system reliability
- Estimate the lifetime of mechanical assemblies and biological systems
Does your current tool set have these advantages?
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Automatic, interactive interface construction to visualize your simulations, examine model sensitivity to parameter changes and more
Unique to Wolfram technologies -
Easy development of computer simulations of stochastic processes, discrete events and more, using built-in functions such as RandomReal, RandomInteger and RandomComplex
C/C++, Java and other programming languages require importing libraries and writing lengthy code for random number generation from continuous and discrete distributions -
Automated precision control and arbitrary-precision numerics produce highly accurate results to ill-conditioned problems
Excel, Matlab and other systems that rely on finite-precision numerics can cause serious errors due to lack of precision -
Built-in functionality for constrained and unconstrained optimization, statistical analysis and computation, curve fitting and a range of other application areas
Matlab requires the purchase of multiple toolboxes -
Easy-to-use parallel computing capabilities for solving computation- or data-intensive problems on multicore computers or grids
Extensive programming is required to parallelize processes in all other systems -
Integrated access to historic and current financial, socioeconomic, geographic and scientific data immediately suitable for computation
Unique to Wolfram technologies -
Complete workflow, from simulation to analysis to typeset documents or interactive slide shows, in a single document
Unique to Wolfram technologies
Operations research specific capabilities:
- Estimate the lifetime of mechanical assemblies and biological systems using built-in survival analysis functionality »
- Complete functionality for reliability analysis, including importance measures for pinpointing subsystems that help improve system reliability »
- Advanced graph algorithms, including Dijkstra, Kruskal, Bellman–Ford and more, for network routing applications such as internet congestion control, design of high-speed communication networks and other applications
- State-of-the-art functionality for network analysis and graph computation, including several graph metrics such as centrality measures, distance measures and more »
- Efficient random number generation for simulating events, estimating probabilities, numerically testing symbolic results and more »
- Free-form linguistic input produces immediate results without the need for syntax »
- Instantly create interactive interfaces to examine model sensitivity to parameter changes »
- Built-in functions for solving local and global optimization problems, both numeric and symbolic, including constrained nonlinear optimization »
- High-level support for mathematical model building using calculus, probability and graph theory
- Linear, nonlinear, logit, probit, generalized linear and other regression models for statistical analysis »
- Estimation of distribution parameters from data and testing of goodness of fit of data to distributions
- More statistical distributions than any other system, with the ability to define new distributions from data, formulas or other distributions »
- Built-in support for more than 4,500 units—including free-form linguistic entry, conversions and dimensional consistency checking across graphics and numeric and symbolic calculations »
- Support for a large number of random processes, including parametric processes, finite Markov processes, queueing processes, time series processes and stochastic differential equation processes.
- Support for discrete-time and continuous-time finite Markov processes and for finite and infinite queues and queueing networks with general arrival and service time distributions
- Solve linear programming problems using simplex, revised simplex or interior point methods
- Multidimensional optimization problem solving using automated algorithm selection or user-specified methods such as simulated annealing, Nelder–Mead, differential evolution and random search »
- Built-in support for parallel processing and GPU computation with CUDA or OpenCL for high-speed, memory-efficient execution
- Generate dynamic reports containing graphics, text and interactive applications »
- Instantly deploy your interactive models using Wolfram Player or webMathematica
"Our error rate, in terms of sending incorrect results to our clients, has decreased by four orders of magnitude. So we used to have 10 to 15 errors a day in our laboratory. Now, it's 2 or 3 every year and that's a big advantage."
George Woodrow IIIResearch Specialist, Quest Diagnostics
"We want to be the largest holder of building—commercial and industrial—data and using Mathematica is the means by which to communicate, quantify and deliver the ultimate product."
Joseph HirlFounder, CEO and CTO, Agilis Energy, LLC
Organizations Using Wolfram Technologies
Consulting Solutions
Enlist the world’s computation experts to help with your project—any size, any level. At Wolfram, we know what’s possible with computational technology because we are global leaders in creating it. That gives us an unprecedented depth of expertise in applying it to consulting work in a variety of fields. Whether individual or enterprise, from concept to deployment, our computation experts can help you achieve robust results with less time and effort. Get us started with your project today