Dear Colleagues,

Allocation problems are a fundamental type of optimization problem in many application areas (e.g., logistics, manufacturing, telecommunications, healthcare). Their main goal is to determine the allocation of resources such as items, workforce, assets, etc. to tasks, activities or spaces, among many others, while optimizing one or several given objective functions.

In optimization, there are several ways to find solutions for allocation problems. They can be broadly divided into exact, approximate, and hybrid techniques. At the same time, depending on the size of the solution space, as well as on the structure of the allocation problem, one can select one or another type of technique to be developed or applied. In this context, recent advancements in optimization methods, as well as novel application cases, have fostered the development of algorithms with the goal of providing high-quality solutions in short periods of time. Further, advancements in the development of efficient exact approaches have permitted an understanding of the problem and the performance evaluation of approximate approaches.

Considering the previous discussion, this Special Issue is aimed at bringing and presenting original research and state-of-the-art developments in algorithmic approaches for solving allocation problems. We also welcome innovative research and real-world cases addressing new problem variants. 

Dr. Eduardo Lalla-Ruiz
Dr. Jesica de Armas
Dr. Eduardo Segredo
Guest Editors

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• Allocation problems
• Optimization algorithms
• Mathematical programming
• Approximate approaches (e.g., heuristics, metaheuristics)
• Discrete and continuous optimization
• Experimental evaluation of algorithms in allocation problems