Crystal Ball Decision Optimizer 11.1.1
OptQuest
Optimisation Under Uncertainty
OptQuest is a global optimisation software tool that works with Crystal Ball models to find an optimal choice for a given decision. Need to minimise costs? Maximise profits? OptQuest can assists you in making the best decisions despite conditions of uncertainty.
OptQuest is easy to use: the step-by-step OptQuest wizard guides the process of defining constraints, specifying the objective of the outcome, and setting the requirements. OptQuest automatically performs the calculations based on those specifications and pinpoints the best, or optimal, solution. OptQuest then transfers the best solution into the user’s spreadsheet model.
For example, if you were a supply chain manager, you could use Crystal Ball to simulate uncertain demand and the likelihood of running short on stock (given specific inventory levels). For the same problem, OptQuest could help you to identify adequate inventory levels, reduce your holding costs, and optimise your potential profit, while still accounting for the uncertainty of demand.
You can also use OptQuest for portfolio analysis, where you determine an investment strategy that optimises profit while taking into consideration the uncertainty around the annual returns of each asset. Other applications for optimisation include workforce planning of employees, configuration of machines for production scheduling, the location of facilities for distribution, and tolerances in manufacturing design.
How is OptQuest different and better than Excel Solver?
Excel Solver uses classical linear programming and nonlinear programming methods designed for problems where every locally optimal solution is also globally optimal.
In contrast, OptQuest uses a combination of metaheuristic procedures from methods such as Tabu Search, Neural Networks, and Scatter Search. All of these methods are effective for models that Excel Solver can solve, as well as for models with local solutions that are not globally optimal, which is usually true in the real world.
OptQuest has three major advantages over the Excel Solver:
- OptQuest finds the optimal solution in an environment of uncertainty
- OptQuest will not get trapped in local optimal solutions
- OptQuest can handle nonlinear relationships difficult to describe with mathematical formulas