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Supply chain efficiency is a major challenge in today's business environment, where efficient resource allocation and coordination of activities are essential for competitive advantage. Traditional efficiency strategies often struggle for resources for the complex and dynamic network. In response, bio-inspired metaheuristic algorithms have emerged as powerful tools to solve these optimization problems. Referring to the random search nature of metaheuristic algorithms and emphasizing that no metaheuristic algorithm is the best optimizer for all optimization applications, the No Free Lunch (NFL) theorem encourages researchers to design newer algorithms to be able to provide more effective solutions to optimization problems. Motivated by the NFL theorem, the innovation and novelty of this paper is in designing a new meta-heuristic algorithm called Bobcat Optimization Algorithm (BOA) that imitates the natural behavior of bobcats in the wild. The basic inspiration of BOA is derived from the hunting strategy of bobcats during the attack towards the prey and the chase process between them. The theory of BOA is stated and then mathematically modeled in two phases (i) exploration based on the simulation of the bobcat's position change while moving towards the prey and (ii) exploitation based on simulating the bobcat's position change during the chase process to catch the prey. The performance of BOA is evaluated in optimization to handle the CEC 2017 test suite for problem dimensions equal to 10, 30, 50, and 100, as well as to address CEC 2020. The optimization results show that BOA has a high ability in exploration, exploitation, and balance them during the search process in order to achieve a suitable solution for optimization problems. The results obtained from BOA are compared with the performance of twelve well-known metaheuristic algorithms. The findings show that BOA has been successful in handling the CEC 2017 test suite in 89.65, 79.31, 93.10, and 89.65% of the functions for the problem dimension equal to 10, 30, 50, and 100, respectively. Also, the findings show that in order to handle the CEC 2020 test suite, BOA has been successful in 100% of the functions of this test suite. The statistical analysis confirms that BOA has a significant statistical superiority in the competition with the compared algorithms. Also, in order to analyze the efficiency of BOA in dealing with real world applications, twenty-two constrained optimization problems from CEC 2011 test suite and four engineering design problems have been selected. The findings show that BOA has been successful in 90.90% of CEC2011 test suite optimization problems and in 100% of engineering design problems. In addition, the efficiency of BOA to handle SCM applications has been challenged to solve ten case studies in the field of sustainable lot size optimization. The findings show that BOA has successfully provided superior performance in 100% of the case studies compared to competitor algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supply Chain (SC) Optimization is a key activity in today's industry with the goal of increasing operational efficiency, reducing costs, and improving customer satisfaction. Traditional optimization methods often struggle to effectively use resources while handling complex and dynamic Supply chain networks. This paper introduces a novel biomimetic metaheuristic algorithm called the Wombat Optimization Algorithm (WOA) for supply chain optimization. This algorithm replicates the natural behaviors observed in wombats living in the wild, particularly focusing on their foraging tactics and evasive maneuvers towards predators. The theory of WOA is described and then mathematically modeled in two phases: (i) exploration based on the simulation of wombat movements during foraging and trying to find food and (ii) exploitation based on simulating wombat movements when diving towards nearby tunnels to defend against its predators. The effectiveness of WOA in addressing optimization challenges is assessed by handling the CEC 2017 test suite across various problem dimensions, including 10, 30, 50, and 100. The findings of the optimization indicate that WOA demonstrates a strong ability to effectively manage exploration and exploitation, and maintains a balance between them throughout the search phase to deliver optimal solutions for optimization problems. A total of twelve well-known metaheuristic algorithms are called upon to test their performance against WOA in the optimization process. The outcomes of the simulations reveal that WOA outperforms the other algorithms, achieving superior results across most benchmark functions and securing the top ranking as the most efficient optimizer. Using a Wilcoxon rank sum test statistical analysis, it has been proven that WOA outperforms other algorithms significantly. WOA is put to the test with twenty-two constrained optimization problems from the CEC 2011 test suite and four engineering design problems to showcase its ability to solve real-world optimization problems. The results of the simulations demonstrate that WOA excels in real-world applications by delivering superior solutions and outperforming its competitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new bio-inspired metaheuristic algorithm named the Pufferfish Optimization Algorithm (POA), that imitates the natural behavior of pufferfish in nature, is introduced in this paper. The fundamental inspiration of POA is adapted from the defense mechanism of pufferfish against predators. In this defense mechanism, by filling its elastic stomach with water, the pufferfish becomes a spherical ball with pointed spines, and as a result, the hungry predator escapes from this threat. The POA theory is stated and then mathematically modeled in two phases: (i) exploration based on the simulation of a predator's attack on a pufferfish and (ii) exploitation based on the simulation of a predator's escape from spiny spherical pufferfish. The performance of POA is evaluated in handling the CEC 2017 test suite for problem dimensions equal to 10, 30, 50, and 100. The optimization results show that POA has achieved an effective solution with the appropriate ability in exploration, exploitation, and the balance between them during the search process. The quality of POA in the optimization process is compared with the performance of twelve well-known metaheuristic algorithms. The simulation results show that POA provides superior performance by achieving better results in most of the benchmark functions in order to solve the CEC 2017 test suite compared to competitor algorithms. Also, the effectiveness of POA to handle optimization tasks in real-world applications is evaluated on twenty-two constrained optimization problems from the CEC 2011 test suite and four engineering design problems. Simulation results show that POA provides effective performance in handling real-world applications by achieving better solutions compared to competitor algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new bio-inspired metaheuristic algorithm named the Kookaburra Optimization Algorithm (KOA) is introduced, which imitates the natural behavior of kookaburras in nature. The fundamental inspiration of KOA is the strategy of kookaburras when hunting and killing prey. The KOA theory is stated, and its mathematical modeling is presented in the following two phases: (i) exploration based on the simulation of prey hunting and (ii) exploitation based on the simulation of kookaburras' behavior in ensuring that their prey is killed. The performance of KOA has been evaluated on 29 standard benchmark functions from the CEC 2017 test suite for the different problem dimensions of 10, 30, 50, and 100. The optimization results show that the proposed KOA approach, by establishing a balance between exploration and exploitation, has good efficiency in managing the effective search process and providing suitable solutions for optimization problems. The results obtained using KOA have been compared with the performance of 12 well-known metaheuristic algorithms. The analysis of the simulation results shows that KOA, by providing better results in most of the benchmark functions, has provided superior performance in competition with the compared algorithms. In addition, the implementation of KOA on 22 constrained optimization problems from the CEC 2011 test suite, as well as 4 engineering design problems, shows that the proposed approach has acceptable and superior performance compared to competitor algorithms in handling real-world applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The population is divided into three sub-populations. • A novel population evolution strategy is introduced to improve the basic WOA. • The proposed algorithm (MEWOA) has high solution accuracy and converges fast. • CEC 2019 test suite and 30 benchmark functions are used to test MEWOA. • MEWOA is applied to four engineering design problems. The whale optimization algorithm (WOA) tends to suffer from slow convergence speed and quickly falling into the local optimum. In this work, a WOA variant is proposed based on multi-population evolution (MEWOA) to address these problems. Firstly, individuals are classified into three equal-sized sub-populations: exploratory sub-population, exploitative sub-population, and modest sub-population, according to their fitness. Secondly, the moving strategies of each sub-population are assigned using different mechanisms. The exploratory and exploitative sub-populations perform global and local search, respectively, while the modest sub-population randomly explores or exploits the search space. Finally, we introduce a novel population evolution strategy to help MEWOA improve its global optimization ability and avoid local optimum. MEWOA is compared with five state-of-the-art WOA variants and seven basic metaheuristic algorithms over 30 benchmark functions with dimensions of 100, 500, 1000, and 2000 respectively. It is observed that MEWOA achieves faster convergence speed, shows shorter runtime, and provides higher solution accuracy than other algorithms on the majority of benchmark functions. In addition, we tested MEWOA's ability to solve challenging real-world and constrained optimization problems on the CEC 2019 test suite and four engineering design problems. The experimental results demonstrate the competitiveness and merits of the proposed MEWOA algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]