Breaking the Limits of Optimization
Every major industry today relies on optimization — for supply chain planning, grid expansion, workforce allocation, transportation routing, and more. Yet there is a persistent problem experts know all too well:
Even the best MIP solvers eventually hit a wall.
Models grow too large. Run times become unpredictable. Feasible solutions arrive late — or not at all. Optimality gaps stall.
The result? Missed opportunities, costly buffers, and decisions made without confidence.
That’s why ODH (Optimization Direct Heuristics) was created — to push past the limits of traditional branch-and-bound solvers and deliver fast, high-quality solutions even on the largest and most irregular models.
What Is ODH?
ODH is a parallel heuristic intelligence layer that works alongside FICO® Xpress. Rather than replacing the solver, it co-solves the model — exploring solution space independently while exchanging valuable information with Xpress in real time.
What ODH Does Differently
- Finds good feasible solutions early — even when the solver struggles
- Decomposes models into parallel subproblems
- Shares solutions, bounds, and relaxations with Xpress during runtime
- Reduces variability across similar runs of similar models
The result is faster convergence, more reliable performance, and better answers sooner.
Proven on the Hardest Optimization Problems
ODH is actively tested on:
- 850+ real customer models across industries
- 101 MIPLIB Open-v7 models improved within 2 hours (8 threads)
- Models exceeding 20 million rows and 35 million columns
Typical users see:
| Improvement Metric | Typical ODH Impact |
|---|---|
| Optimality Gap | 20–30% reduction |
| Feasibility Time | Achieved significantly earlier |
| Runtime Stability | Greater consistency across runs |
| Large Model Survivability | Models that previously failed now solve cleanly |
Ideal Use Cases
ODH is designed for environments where speed matters more than proof of optimality, and feasible quality is more valuable than theoretical exactness.
Common applications include:
- Energy & Utilities: Grid capacity planning, generation dispatch, fuel mix optimization
- Supply Chain & Logistics: Network design, inventory balancing, replenishment
- Telecom & Infrastructure: Fiber routing, bandwidth allocation
- Manufacturing: Production sequencing, workforce allocation
- Public Sector: Districting, resource deployment
Available Today — No Platform Migration Required
ODH integrates directly with:
- FICO® Xpress (recommended runtime engine)
- AIMMS, GAMS, MATLAB
- Command-line and library/API access
If you already use Xpress, ODH is a natural extension — not a replacement.
Ready to Push Past the Limits?
If your optimization models:
- Take too long to converge
- Deliver inconsistent results across runs
- Fail to find good solutions in time-critical windows
- Crash or stall due to scale
…then ODH is built for you.
To learn more or request a proof-of-performance test, contact:
alkis@optimizationdirect.com
