*** New (and final) submission deadline: February 29th, 2012 ***

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CALL FOR PAPERS

International Journal of Production Economics

Special Issue

Cutting and Packing

Special Issue Guest Editors
Jose Fernando Oliveira,  Gerhard Waescher, Julia Bennell

Manuscript submission deadline:  29 February 2012

Authors should submit their papers via the EEShttp://www.ees.elsevier.com/ijpe/  and select “Special Issue: Cutting and Packing” when asked to indicate the “Article Type” in the submission process.

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Introduction

Cutting and packing problems are hard combinatorial optimization problems which, in general, involve feasibly assigning small items to one or more large object in order to minimize waste or maximize profit. Problems of this kind arise in the context of various real-world applications, both in industry and in services. For example, it may be cutting paper rolls into narrower rolls in the paper industry, cutting large boards of wood into smaller rectangular panels in the furniture industry or cutting the irregularly shaped components of garment from fabric rolls. Applications in logistics may deal with the loading of cargo into containers or with packing boxes on pallets.  All the problems have in common the existence of a geometric sub-problem, as all items have to be assigned to the large objects in a way that they do not overlap and placed within the large objects.

These problems are not only scientifically relevant but also economically important, as they globally deal with waste minimization, either in the form of producing more with the same amount of resources or by using less raw materials for the fulfillment of the same orders. Furthermore, the efficient resolution of cutting and packing problems has also a major positive impact on the environment, as many raw materials (e.g. paper, wood, natural leather, fabrics, etc.) that are saved in cutting processes depend on the utilization of scarce natural resources and on heavy energy consumption. These savings lead to a lower impact of production activities over natural resources. Improved solutions to container loading problems result in fewer trucks which are needed for the transportation of goods and in less CO2 emissions.

As combinatorial optimization problems, cutting and packing problems may be solved by using all kinds of optimization approaches and techniques which are available nowadays: linear programming techniques, dedicated heuristics, metaheuristics, branch-and-bound algorithms, constraint logic programming, etc. The evolution of computer hardware and optimization solvers is bringing new and fascinating developments concerning the hybridization of exact methods with heuristic approaches.

This threefold relevance of cutting and packing problems (scientific, economic and environmental) is driving more and better research in this field, evident from the increasing number of papers published each year in major scientific journals. The EURO Special Interest Group on Cutting and Packing (ESICUP) has seen rapid growth in membership to around 700 registered members, from around the world. This explosive growth also brings forward the need for an improved organization of research in the field. Extensions to the improved typology of cutting and packing problems (Wäscher et al. 2007) and studies on the computational experimentation of cutting and packing algorithms are under way.

This special issue of the International Journal of Production Economics is devoted to publishing high quality, state-of-the-art papers that contribute to the methodology and practice of cutting and packing problems resolution, through presenting new insights into the structure of the problems, new algorithmic approaches or innovative resolutions of real-life problems and practical applications. Potential topics (but not limited to) include:

·         One-Dimensional Problems
·         Two-Dimensional Rectangular Problems
·         Nesting and packing of irregular shapes
·         Three-Dimensional Packing
·         Container loading
·         Bin-Packing Problems
·         Knapsack Problems
·         Hybridization of Cutting and Packing with other production planning problems, e.g. scheduling, lot sizing, batching, resource selection, product mix, etc.
·         Problem generators and benchmark problems in C&P
·         Industrial and services applications

Manuscript Preparation and Submission

To prepare their manuscripts, authors are asked to closely follow the “Instructions to Authors” that is presented at the back of any recent issue of the International Journal of Production Economics. Authors should submit their papers via the EEShttp://www.ees.elsevier.com/ijpe/  and select “Special Issue: Cutting and Packing” when asked to indicate the “Article Type” in the submission process. Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. Authors are asked to particularly take care of the English level of their manuscript. Manuscripts will be refereed according to the standards of IJPE.

Publication Schedule

INFORMATION                                  DEADLINE
Manuscript submission                        29 February 2012
Reviewer reports                             30 April 2012
Revised paper submission                     31 July 2012
Final manuscript submissions to publisher    31 October 2012