Abstract
Controlling the flow of materials inside job-shops involves several decisions such as the acceptance or rejection of an incoming order, the order's due date definition, the releasing and the dispatching of the job. This study applies a multiple decision-making scheme involving these four decision phases to examine the sensitivity of job-shop performance to different order release parameters. The performance criteria of shop workload and order delivery were collected to demonstrate the influence of the most significant order release parameters: the queue workload limit and the planning parameter of the latest release date. The influence of each parameter is evaluated by computational simulations. The way we compute the machine workload limit affects not only the workload but also delivery performance measures. However, surprisingly, the latest release date has not a significant impact on shop-floor performance measures. The effect of the queue workload limit in an input-output control. mechanism on delivery and workload related performance measures had not been studied up to date. Neither any analysis had investigated the influence of the latest release date calculus on the performance of the job-shop.

Abstract
A virtual enterprise (VE) is a temporary organization that pools member enteiprises core competencies and exploits fast changing market opportunities Partner selection can be viewed as a multi-criteria decision making problem that involves, assessing trade-offs between conflicting tangible and intangible criteria, and stating preferences based on incomplete or non-available information. In general, this is a very complex problem due to the large number of alternatives and criteria of different types. In this paper we propose an integrated approach to rank alternative VE configurations using an extension of the TOPSIS method for fuzzy data, improved through the use of a tabu search meta-heuristic. Preliminary computational results clearly demonstrate its potential for practical application.

Abstract
This paper presents a very special cutting path determination problem appearing in a high precision tools factory, and provides two new heuristics for its resolution. Particular features of both the cutting process, and of the material to be cut, bring in a set of unusual constraints, when compared with other cutting processes, which confer additional complexity and originality to the problem. In particular, this is a matter of practical and economic relevance, since the solution methods are intended to be implemented in a real-life industrial environment. The concept of dynamic graph is exploited to deal with the arc routing problem under study, which is modelled as a dynamic rural postman problem. The constructive heuristics developed, the "higher up vertex heuristic" (HUV) and the "minimum empty path heuristic" (MEP) are tested with real data sets.

Abstract
In recent years, the pharmaceutical sector has gone through deep changes, partially due to the ageing of the population and to the increasing of costs in health care services. With margins that are getting lower and lower, the drug distribution problem to pharmacies has become much more important, particularly in large metropolitan areas. As pharmacies demand shorter delivery times, vehicle routing and scheduling problems become harder for distributors. It is recognized that the traditional system based on fixed routes does not fulfil the expectations of pharmacies and may, in some cases, be quite inefficient for distributiors. In this work, a case study has been carried out and a change of the traditional approach is proposed, by adopting a system of variable routes that are dynamically designed, based on orders that are constantly arriving along the day. A dynamic algorithm is therefore proposed, meant to be run several times a day. It has four phases: first, a clustering of the orders is performed; second, potential routes are constructed; third, a route is selected for operation; and finally, that route is subject to an improvement process. The selection of the next route to be launched may be postponed in order to take advantage of subsequent information. The algorithm has been tested in the case study, by simulating one week of operation, and by comparing the results with the plan produced by the traditional way. © Springer-Verlag 2006.

Abstract
This paper develops measures, based on the Malmquist index, that enable the decision making units' internal inefficiencies to be distinguished from those associated with their group (or program) characteristics. The applicability of these measures is illustrated with the assessment of bank branches' performance. The analysis involves the construction of an index reflecting the relative performance of branches in four different regions, which can be decomposed into an index for the comparison of within-group efficiency spread, evaluating internal managerial efficiencies, and an index for the comparison of frontier productivity, reflecting the impact of environmental factors and regional managerial policies on branches' productivity.

Abstract
Make-to-order companies, such as job shops, have been extensively studied. Some of those studies emphasise the importance of the workload control in order to improve manufacturing operations. In this paper a multiple decision-making scheme, with the purpose of planning and controlling operations and getting better delivery and workload related performance measures, as well as one order release decision rule are proposed. The decision-making scheme includes four main decisions: (i) accept or reject an in-coming order; (ii) define the order's due date; (iii) release the accepted jobs; and (iv) dispatch the jobs at the station level. Extensive simulation experiments were performed to compare the proposed rule with the benchmark mechanisms, as well as with rules presented in previous studies. They led to the conclusion that considering the four decisions simultaneously can improve the job shop measures of performance, and that the proposed release rule is the best in almost all instances.