Search results for "operation"
showing 10 items of 2969 documents
An integrated fuzzy-stochastic model for revenue management: The hospitality industry case
2016
Revenue management aims at improving the performance of an organization by selling the right product/service to the right customer at the right time. This task is very dependent on uncontrollable external factors. In the hospitality industry, rooms of the hotel represent perishable assets and fixed capacities at the same time. Therefore, in the case of a stochastic process for customers calling in reservations prior to a particular booking date, a common problem for hotels is to devise a policy for maximizing the total expected profit conditional on the set of bookings. We propose a fuzzy model for the hotel revenue management under an uncertain and vague environment. Fuzziness of objectiv…
The collaborative consistent vehicle routing problem with workload balance
2021
Abstract The rising competition in the logistics sector forces companies to be more economically efficient. One of the major sources of inefficiency is the incomplete usage of available resources, such as vehicles’ capacities. Mechanism that allow to better exploit such resources by enabling carrier collaborations are on the rise. Our study examines a centrally organized multi-period collaborative vehicle routing problem, where carriers can exchange customers who have to be serviced on a regular basis. Collaborations, where carriers serve frequent customers, are supposed to face the problem of (i) time consistency in terms of visiting time, and of (ii) service consistency. The latter ensure…
Branch-and-Cut-and-Price for the Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows and Convex Node Costs
2019
Two critical yet frequently conflicting objectives for logistics and transportation service companies are improving customer satisfaction and reducing transportation cost. In particular, given a network of customer requests with preferred service times, it is very challenging to find vehicle routes and service schedules simultaneously that respect all operating constraints and minimize the total transportation and customers’ inconvenience costs. In this paper, we introduce the vehicle routing problem with time windows and convex node costs (VRPTW-CNC), in which we model each customer’s inconvenience cost as a convex function of the service start time at that customer. The VRPTW-CNC combine…
Understanding the Key Factors of Shared Mobility Services: Palermo as a Case Study
2020
The potential success of shared mobility services in the urban area strongly depends on careful tariff planning, adequate sizing of the fleet and efficient integrated public transport system, as well as on the application of policies in favor of sustainable modes of transport. The balance between earnings and expenses is not always an easy target for the companies in those cities where these services are not well-rooted in the citizens’ mobility habits. Often only large operators in the sector can continue to offer a service generating profit. However, several factors can determine the success or the failure of shared mobility services. The objective of this study is to identify, thanks to …
Axes of relationship value between manufacturers and retailers
2018
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to define the relationship strategy of manufacturers with their retail customers through the identification of axes for the creation of relationship value. Design/methodology/approach A survey was carried out and 219 valid questionnaires were completed and returned by the purchasing managers of retail companies in the furniture sector. The model was estimated using the partial least squares approach. Findings The results revealed three axes of value creation: the core axis, the information and communication technologies (ICTs) axis, and the access axis. These axes included the benefits and costs related to the product and the service provided, the ICTs …
A weighted logistic regression for conjoint analysis and Kansei engineering
2007
Customer needs for emotional satisfaction are increasingly being considered by product and service designers. While several existing methods such as conjoint analysis (CA), Kano model and quality function deployment support the translation of customer requirements into technical specifications, researchers are now working to develop methods aimed at integrating affective aspects into product design. Kansei engineering (KE) is a design philosophy that considers customer perceptions and emotions by adopting a multi-disciplinary approach. CA is a useful tool within a KE project. This article presents a methodology for conducting a KE project in early development phases. This methodology is bas…
Economical evaluations of reactive power supply as an ancillary service offered by distributors
2006
Reactive power supply is one of the most important ancillary services in the field of transmission systems safety. In the current market assets, at international level, this service is differently regulated and sometimes with criteria that are not market driven. The present work is focused on the perspective to realise a reactive power market to which also the distributors can take part injecting reactive power into HV/MV connection bus bar. Under this hypothesis, the paper proposes a methodology to evaluate the economic convenience limits that the system operator would have buying the capacitive reactive power offered by distributors.
An Innovative Pricing Method for Telecommunication Services Pricing through American Options
2009
With the evolution of telecommunication networks and of their services the role of service provider is changed, so nowadays there is a coexistence of Network Operators and Virtual Operators. The difference between these players is not in the way they offer a service but primarily in their economic objectives and risk attitudes. Essentially, Network Operators own their infrastructures and typically have to sustain both fixed costs (CAPEX) and recurrent costs (OPEX), while Virtual Operators may have a simpler cost structure, mainly consisting of OPEX for the hire of network resources. Since these two operators can provide the same service in two different markets, their objectives differ subs…
American Options Based Service Pricing For Virtual Operators
2008
In the recent years, the role of service provider has split into two broad categories: Network Operators, offering services over their networks, and Virtual Operators, providing services over leased resources. What differentiates these players is to a minor extent a matter of enhanced service offer, and primarily a matter of economic objectives and risk attitudes. Essentially, Network Operators own their infrastructures and typically have to sustain both fixed costs (CAPEX) and recurrent costs (OPEX), while Virtual Operators may have a simpler cost structure, mainly consisting of OPEX for hiring the network. Correspondingly, the objectives of these players may differ profoundly: on one hand…
Unit-level fairness and quality within the health care industry: A justice–quality model
2014
We test a justice–quality model in which peer justice and justice climate are related to the service quality provided by the work unit. Based on the effort–reward imbalance model, we propose that units perceiving fair treatment provide better delivery of the core service (functional service quality) and better relational service beyond the core service (relational service quality). We also test whether the cross-level relationship of high service quality delivered by work units translates into high customer ratings of the service quality they receive. Furthermore, we propose that high service quality increases the work unit’s influence on their customers’ quality of life (QoL). We test thes…