End of day process optimization through multi-mode resource constrained project scheduling - A banking case study

An End-of-Day process is a batch job that includes a sequence of programs, wherein tasks are completed automatically at times specified by a scheduler. The efficient allocation of resources for the timely execution of tasks allows a company to reduce the overall time needed for the completion of the work and improve customer satisfaction by delivering orders on time. This paper presents a case study of a Turkish bank with the objective of minimizing the duration of the end-of-day process through the optimization of work scheduling and resource allocation. This problem is modeled as a multi-mode resource constrained project scheduling problem, optimally resolved by mixed-integer programming, and approximated via simulated annealing heuristic. The scheduler in this paper can also be used to assess the importance of scheduling and crashing tasks, along with the sufficiency of the infrastructure to optimize the End-of-Day process.