Applications of modern heuristic search methods to pattern sequencing problems

This article describes applications of modern heuristic search methods to pattern sequencing problems, i.e., problems seeking for a permutation of the rows of a given matrix with respect to some given objective function. We consider two different objectives: Minimization of the number of simultaneously open stacks and minimization of the average order spread. Both objectives require the adaptive evaluation of changed solutions to allow an efficient application of neighbourhood search techniques. We discuss the application of several modern heuristic search methods and present computational results.