The symposium Operations Research 2007 was held from September 5-7, 2007 at the Saarland University in Saarbru ]cken. This international conference is at the same time the annual meeting of the German - erations Research Society (GOR). The transition in Germany (and many other countries in Europe) from a production orientation to a service society combined with a continuous demographic change generated a need for intensi?ed Op- ations Research activities in this area. On that account this conference has been devoted to the role of Operations Research in the service industry. The links to...