Impact on Industry

CASTLE Lab prides itself on its ability to have an impact on industry. We do this in several ways. Most important is our direct participation in the development of systems to be used by our corporate sponsors. This work is done completely through Princeton University by research staff working in the department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering.

These projects range from real-time optimization and short-term tactical planning to strategic simulators for analyzing the dynamics of operations. While the details of these projects are often confidential, we do our best to write papers summarizing this work. Over $24 million in research funding (since the founding of CASTLE Lab) is testament to the faith that our sponsors have put into our efforts.

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Consulting Firms Started

Two consulting firms have been started by students who worked under the supervision of Warren Powell:

Princeton Transportation Consulting Group, Inc. (PTCG)
Founded in 1988, PTCG was started with two models developed at Princeton University. The first was SuperSPIN, an interactive optimization model for planning networks for less-than-truckload (LTL) motor carriers. The second was MicroMAP, the first commercially successful model for real-time load matching for truckload motor carriers. The first management team consisted of David Cape ’87 as president, and Ken Nickerson ’84 as lead software engineer.

PTCG is now a subdivision of Manhattan Associates.

As of 2011, Manhattan Associates is still selling “MicroMAP” (as “Drivers and Loads”) and SUPERSPIN. MicroMAP is used by 20 of the largest truckload carriers to dispatch over 66,000 drivers, while SUPERSPIN is used by 20 of the largest LTL carriers.

Transport Dynamics, Inc. (TDI)
TDI was founded in 1995 by Derek Gittoes (MSE, CASTLE Lab). TDI undertook projects with major freight transportation companies under the leadership of Paul Stephens. TDI was acquired in 2004 by Princeton Consultants, Inc.

Strategic and Tactical Optimization of Locomotives

PLASMA (Princeton Locomotive and Shop Management System) is the first production optimization model for locomotives for freight railroads in the U.S. Developed for Norfolk Southern Railroad, PLASMA is based on approximate dynamic programming technology. It is used for strategic fleet sizing and short-term operational planning.

Read the complete description of PLASMA ?

Changing the LTL Trucking Industry

It is not often that a model restructures an entire industry; SuperSPIN was such a model. Developed in the 1980s during deregulation, it matured at Yellow Freight (known there as “SYSNET”). Under the leadership of John Braklow, SYSNET was used to completely restructure Yellow’s network.

J.B. Braklow, et al., “Interactive Optimization Improves Service and Performance for Yellow Freight System,” Interfaces, Vol. 22, No. 1, 1992.

SuperSPIN was eventually marketed to the rest of the industry, influencing the early planning of Roadway Package System (now FedEx Ground), FedEx Freight, and Overnight Transportation (now UPS Freight).

Real-time Optimization for Truckload Trucking

We have worked extensively in real-time driver scheduling. MicroMAP was the first real-time model to handle driver assignments at high detail while capturing future impacts. It has been installed at 20 of the nation’s largest carriers, including J.B. Hunt and Swift.

We also completed a strategic fleet planning system for Schneider National, allowing them to model operations at a high level of detail and save tens of millions of dollars annually. More information here.

Awards and Testimonials

  • 2009 Donald H. Wagner Prize: Awarded for the development of approximate dynamic programming algorithms optimizing 6,000 drivers for Schneider National.
  • Norfolk Southern Testimonial: “PLASMA has recently completed the user acceptance test… capturing NS operating policies while matching performance on measures such as train delay.”
  • CIO-100 Award (2001): Yellow Freight received this for innovative practices using our network optimization models.
  • Franz Edelman Competition: Finalist (1992) with Yellow Freight; Second Place (1987) with North American Van Lines.

Major Projects Portfolio

Strategic Fleet Simulator for Schneider National

Using approximate dynamic programming, we developed the first production-quality fleet simulator for truckload trucking. This system credited with annual savings of over $20 million.

Locomotive Optimization for Norfolk Southern

This system handles the assignment of locomotives to trains over planning horizons while simultaneously managing routing to shop locations. Learn more.

Tactical and Strategic Fleet Planning for Netjets

Netjets operates over 500 jets. We developed two models: a detailed optimization for pilot-to-aircraft assignment and a long-term fleet size/mix model covering 10-year projections.

Managing High-Value Spare Parts for Embraer

A model designed to capture tradeoffs between field inventory locations and central distribution centers, managing over 1,000 spare parts under strict budget constraints.

The Multilayered-Resource Scheduling Problem

In collaboration with Air Products and Chemicals, we developed a system for simultaneously routing drivers, tractors, trailers, and chemical products while observing complex business rules.