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Worst-Case Analysis of Heuristics for the Bin Packing Problem with General Cost Structures

Author

Listed:
  • Shoshana Anily

    (Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel)

  • Julien Bramel

    (Columbia University, New York, New York)

  • David Simchi-Levi

    (Columbia University, New York, New York)

Abstract

We consider the famous bin packing problem where a set of items must be stored in bins of equal capacity. In the classical version, the objective is to minimize the number of bins used. Motivated by several optimization problems that occur in the context of the storage of items, we study a more general cost structure where the cost of a bin is a concave function of the number of items in the bin. The objective is to store the items in such a way that total cost is minimized. Such cost functions can greatly alter the way the items should be assigned to the bins. We show that some of the best heuristics developed for the classical bin packing problem can perform poorly under the general cost structure. On the other hand, the so-called next-fit increasing heuristic has an absolute worst-case bound of no more than 1.75 and an asymptotic worst-case bound of 1.691 for any concave and monotone cost function. Our analysis also provides a new worst-case bound for the well studied next-tit decreasing heuristic when the objective is to minimize the number of bins used.

Suggested Citation

  • Shoshana Anily & Julien Bramel & David Simchi-Levi, 1994. "Worst-Case Analysis of Heuristics for the Bin Packing Problem with General Cost Structures," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 42(2), pages 287-298, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:oropre:v:42:y:1994:i:2:p:287-298
    DOI: 10.1287/opre.42.2.287
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    Cited by:

    1. Haouari, Mohamed & Mhiri, Mariem, 2024. "Lower and upper bounding procedures for the bin packing problem with concave loading cost," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 312(1), pages 56-69.
    2. Hu, Qian & Lim, Andrew & Zhu, Wenbin, 2015. "The two-dimensional vector packing problem with piecewise linear cost function," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 43-53.
    3. Kristina Yancey Spencer & Pavel V. Tsvetkov & Joshua J. Jarrell, 2019. "A greedy memetic algorithm for a multiobjective dynamic bin packing problem for storing cooling objects," Journal of Heuristics, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 1-45, February.
    4. Liu, D.S. & Tan, K.C. & Huang, S.Y. & Goh, C.K. & Ho, W.K., 2008. "On solving multiobjective bin packing problems using evolutionary particle swarm optimization," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 190(2), pages 357-382, October.
    5. Braune, Roland, 2019. "Lower bounds for a bin packing problem with linear usage cost," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 274(1), pages 49-64.
    6. Hu, Qian & Zhu, Wenbin & Qin, Hu & Lim, Andrew, 2017. "A branch-and-price algorithm for the two-dimensional vector packing problem with piecewise linear cost function," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 260(1), pages 70-80.
    7. Chung‐Lun Li & Zhi‐Long Chen, 2006. "Bin‐packing problem with concave costs of bin utilization," Naval Research Logistics (NRL), John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(4), pages 298-308, June.
    8. Rongqi Li & Zhiyi Tan & Qianyu Zhu, 0. "Batch scheduling of nonidentical job sizes with minsum criteria," Journal of Combinatorial Optimization, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-22.
    9. Wang, Ting & Hu, Qian & Lim, Andrew, 2022. "An exact algorithm for two-dimensional vector packing problem with volumetric weight and general costs," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 300(1), pages 20-34.
    10. Goldberg, Noam & Karhi, Shlomo, 2017. "Packing into designated and multipurpose bins: A theoretical study and application to the cold chain," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 85-92.
    11. Hu, Qian & Wei, Lijun & Lim, Andrew, 2018. "The two-dimensional vector packing problem with general costs," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 59-69.
    12. Rongqi Li & Zhiyi Tan & Qianyu Zhu, 2021. "Batch scheduling of nonidentical job sizes with minsum criteria," Journal of Combinatorial Optimization, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 543-564, October.
    13. Akturk, M. Selim & Ghosh, Jay B. & Gunes, Evrim D., 2004. "Scheduling with tool changes to minimize total completion time: Basic results and SPT performance," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(3), pages 784-790, September.

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