Optimization algorithms in barter trade exchanges | |
| Author | Nguyen Phat Tai |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.IM-03-06 |
| Subject(s) | Barter Mathematical models Mathematical optimization |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering, School of Advanced Technologies |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ;no. IM-03-06 |
| Abstract | Barter is a fast-growing, multi-billion dollar industry. The core business of a barter trade exchange is to match buyers and sellers; this task is currently done by human brokers. Brokers attempt to manage the trade within a barter pool of companies in order to maximize various economic objectives. This thesis aims at automating the economic optimization aspect of the brokerage process. A barter pool is modeled as a matrix, where rows represent member companies and columns represent products and services. Entries indicate whether a company sells or wishes to buy a given product or service. Optimizing trade within such a matrix amounts to a combinatorial optimization problem. Two versions of the problem are investigated: a simplified qualitative version and a quantitative version. For both types of problems several different optimization algorithms are developed and evaluated, including exhaustive search, heuristic search, and nonlinear programming. Experimental results on synthetic data show that heuristic search and nonlinear programming yield optimal solutions for the majority of problems and that when they return sub-optimal solutions, the solutions are typically very close to optimal. |
| Year | 2003 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. IM-03-06 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Advanced Technologies (SAT) |
| Department | Department of Information and Communications Technologies (DICT) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Information Management (IM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Haddawy, Peter; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Phan Minh Dung;Guha, Sumanta ; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | HoChiMinh City Post;Telecom.; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2003 |