Local Producer Marketplace
A digital marketplace connecting local producers and consumers in the Baia Mare region, and a real-world testbed for COSA supply-chain optimization research.
About the platform
The Local Producer Marketplace is a digital platform that connects local producers in the Baia Mare region with consumers and generates high-quality, real-world data for the COSA research team. Built around the Short Food Supply Chain (SFSC) model, the platform aggregates multiple local producer storefronts into a single, searchable ecosystem, a “marketplace of marketplaces”.
What the platform delivers
- For consumers: a unified interface to browse, compare, and buy from local producers, with a shared shopping cart and home delivery options.
- For producers: a personal branded storefront, inventory management, order tracking, sales analytics, and promotion tools — with zero technological barriers.
- For research: real-world transaction, location, demand, and temporal data as input for vehicle-routing and supply-chain optimization research within COSA.
Demo access
Team and partner
Lead developer: Cosmin Sabo. Research team: COSA project consortium. Hosting institution: Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, North University Center of Baia Mare.
Research context
The marketplace provides a unique source of real-world data for several classes of optimization problems studied within COSA, Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP), Capacitated VRP, Time-Windows VRP, and Multi-Depot VRP — using AI and metaheuristics, including hybrid genetic algorithms, clustered routing approaches, and evolutionary encodings published by the COSA team in EJOR, Carpathian J. Math., and other venues.
Related publications
- P. C. Pop, O. Cosma, C. Sabo, C. Pop Sitar, «A comprehensive survey on the generalized traveling salesman problem,» European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, 2023. (Q1)
- O. Cosma, P. C. Pop, L. Cosma, «A hybrid based genetic algorithm for solving the clustered generalized traveling salesman problem,» HAIS 2023.
- C. Sabo, P. C. Pop, A. Petrovan, «A comparison of different crossover operators in genetic algorithms for clustered shortest-path tree problem,» CIE 50, 2024.
- C. Sabo, B. Teglaș, P. C. Pop, A. Petrovan, «Solving the clustered minimum routing tree problem using Prüfer-coding based hybrid genetic algorithms,» HAIS 2024.
- A. Tatar, N. Fat, A. Petrovan, O. Matei, «A new vision of social behavior on genetic algorithm performance,» SOCO 2024.
- C. Sabo, N. Balogh, P. C. Pop, A. Petrovan, «A comparative study of different genetic algorithms approaches to capacitated vehicle routing problem for collection of agricultural products,» SOCO 2024.
- C. Sabo, P. C. Pop, B. Teglaș, A. Petrovan, «Competition between Dandelion and Prüfer encoded genetic algorithms for solving the clustered minimum routing tree problem,» Carpathian Journal of Mathematics, 2025. (Q1)
Publications related to Local Producer Marketplace Platform
Competition between Dandelion and Prüfer encoded genetic algorithms for solving the clustered minimum routing tree problem
Competition between Dandelion and Prüfer encoded genetic algorithms for solving the clustered minimum routing tree problemCosmin Sabo, Petrică C. Pop, Bogdan Teglaș, Adrian Petrovan Abstract. The Clustered Minimum Routing Tree Problem (CluMRTP) is a challenging...
A new vision of social behavior on genetic algorithm performance
A new vision of social behavior on genetic algorithm performanceAndreea Tatar, Nicolae Fat, Adrian Petrovan, Oliviu Matei Abstract. Genetic algorithms (GAs) are typically described in terms of mutation, crossover and selection, but the social dynamics that arise...
A comparative study of different genetic algorithms approaches to capacitated vehicle routing problem for collection of agricultural products
A comparative study of different genetic algorithms approaches to capacitated vehicle routing problem for collection of agricultural productsCosmin Sabo, Natanael Balogh, Petrică C. Pop, Adrian Petrovan Abstract. In this study, we tackle a local collection challenge,...
Solving the clustered minimum routing tree problem using Prüfer-coding based hybrid genetic algorithms
Solving the clustered minimum routing tree problem using Prüfer-coding based hybrid genetic algorithmsCosmin Sabo, Bogdan Teglaș, Petrică C. Pop, Adrian Petrovan Abstract. The clustered minimum routing tree problem (CluMRTP) extends the classical minimum routing tree...
A Comparison of different crossover operators in genetic algorithms for clusters shortest-path tree problem
The clustered shortest-path tree (CluSPT) problem is an extension of the classical shortest path problem, given a graph with the nodes partitioned into several mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive clusters looks for a shortest-path spanning tree from a predefined source node to all the other nodes of the graph, with the property that every cluster should generate a connected subgraph.
A comprehensive survey on the generalized traveling salesman problem
The generalized traveling salesman problem (GTSP) is an extension of the classical traveling salesman
problem (TSP), and it is among the most researched combinatorial optimization problems due to its theoretical properties, complexity aspects, and real-life applications in various areas: location-routing problems, material flow design problem, distribution of medical supplies, urban waste collection management, airport selection and routing the courier airplanes, image retrieval and ranking, digital garment manufacturing, etc.
A hybrid based genetic algorithm for solving the clustered generalized traveling salesman problem
We study the clustered generalized traveling salesman problem (CGTSP), which is an extension of the generalized traveling salesman problem (GTSP), which in turn generalizes the well-known traveling salesman problem (TSP).