基于需求分类和乘客升级购买行为的航空公司收益管理模型

研究了基于乘客分类的航空客运库存控制与动态定价策略.模型中,航空公司以提供折扣票的方式将乘客分为两类,并针对购买折扣票的乘客存在升级购买行为,通过动态的控制折扣票的销售和对机票实施动态定价来最大化自身的期望收益.应用动态规划建立了相应的收益管理模型,讨论了最优定价应满足的关系式,并得到了接受或拒绝乘客购买折扣票的阈值.最后,通过算例分析了升级购买概率对阈值、机票的价格及期望收益的影响.     

乘客策略行为下考虑需求学习的航空客运动态定价策略研究

研究航空公司在需求学习下的动态定价策略。通过假设乘客到达率不确定以及具有策略等待行为,运用贝叶斯理论和博弈论对航空公司需求学习下的多周期动态定价问题进行建模,探讨了机票最优定价策略的充分条件,并通过分析航空公司收益函数的性质,得到了最优定价随时间和已出售机票数量的变化趋势。最后应用算例分析了需求学习的效果,得出:需求学习能够缓解需求不确定带来的损失,但不能完全消除;乘客策略程度越大,需求学习效果越明显。     

Airline overbooking in the multi-class case

This paper presents an airline overbooking model at a class level for one service compartment–cabin. Class level demand data is used to determine the number of bookings that can be taken for each class. The model is optimised through the use of multi-dimensional search routines. The control level model developed is tested with data supplied by Ireland's national airline, Aer Lingus. The model shows a significant improvement over previous methods employed by Aer Lingus and was subsequently adopted by the airline.     

Approximate nucleolus-based revenue sharing in airline alliances

Alliances allow the airlines to extend their networks and increase the number of destinations they can access. Different from the traditional single airline approach, in an alliance, partner airlines may sell tickets for the same itinerary. In addition, one itinerary may consist of several flight legs, each of which may be operated by a different airline. A major issue that needs to be addressed is how to share the revenue generated from selling a ticket for a product among the individual airlines in a fair way. The fair allocation of the revenue has a critical importance for the long-term stability of the alliance. We model the problem as a cooperative game and show that the core of the game is non-empty. We propose to use a revenue proration scheme based on the concept of the nucleolus. The numerical studies reveal that the revenue shares can effectively be computed even for large alliance networks.     

Dynamic switching times from season to single tickets in sports and entertainment

Revenue management can be used in many industries where there is a limited, perishable capacity and the market can be segmented. In this paper we focus on the sales of event tickets in the Sports and Entertainment industries, where tickets are sold exclusively as season tickets initially or as single events later in the selling horizon. We specifically study the optimal time to switch between these market segments dynamically as a function of the state of the system. Under Poisson demand processes, we find the optimal switching time is a set of time thresholds that depends on the remaining inventory and time left in the horizon. We use numerical experiments to show that significant profit improvements can be obtained by dynamically deciding the optimal switch time over the case when the date is announced in advance. We also study an extension where ??early switch to a low-demand event?? is allowed.     

Determining optimal selling price and lot size with a varying rate of deterioration and exponential partial backlogging

In this paper, a deterministic inventory model for deteriorating items with price-dependent demand is developed. The demand and deterioration rates are continuous and differentiable function of price and time, respectively. In addition, we allow for shortages and the unsatisfied demand is partially backlogged at a negative exponential rate with the waiting time. Under these assumptions, for any given selling price, we first develop the criterion for the optimal solution for the replenishment schedule, and prove that the optimal replenishment policy not only exists but also is unique. If the criterion is not satisfied, the inventory system should not be operated. Next, we show that the total profit per unit time is a concave function of price when the replenishment schedule is given. We then provide a simple algorithm to find the optimal selling price and replenishment schedule for the proposed model. Finally, we use numerical examples to illustrate the algorithm.     

Two-period pricing and decision strategies in a two-echelon supply chain under price-dependent demand

This paper presents a two-period supply chain model which is comprised of one manufacturer and one retailer who are involved in trading a single product. The demand rate in each period is dependent on the selling prices of the current period and the previous period. We assume that the manufacturer acts as the Stackelberg leader and declares wholesale price(s) to the retailer who follows the manufacturer’s decision and sets his selling prices for two consecutive periods. The manufacturer adopts one of the two pricing options: (1) setting the same wholesale price to both the selling periods (2) setting different wholesale prices to two different selling periods. Based on these pricing options, we develop four decision strategies of the manufacturer and the retailer and compare them. For a numerical example, we study the effects of these decision strategies on the optimal results of the supply chain. Further, we graphically analyze under what circumstances a particular decision strategy plays a dominant role.     

Competition for cores in remanufacturing

We study competition between an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and an independently operating remanufacturer (IO). Different from the existing literature, the OEM and IO compete not only for selling their products but also for collecting returned products (cores) through their acquisition prices. We consider a two-period model with manufacturing by the OEM in the first period, and manufacturing as well as remanufacturing in the second period. We find the optimal policies for both players by establishing a Nash equilibrium in the second period, and then determine the optimal manufacturing decision for the OEM in the first period. This leads to a number of managerial insights. One interesting result is that the acquisition price of the OEM only depends on its own cost structure, and not on the acquisition price of the IO. Further insights are obtained from a numerical investigation. We find that when the cost benefits of remanufacturing diminishes and the IO has more chance to collect the available cores, the OEM manufactures less in the first period as the market in the second period gets larger to protect its market share. Finally, we consider the case where consumers have lower willingness to pay for the remanufactured products and find that in that case remanufacturing becomes less profitable overall.     

The implications of costs, capacity, and competition on product line selection

We consider a situation in which a manufacturer has to select the product(s) to sell as well as the selling price and production quantity of each selected product. There are two substitutable products in the consideration set, where product 2 has a higher quality and reservation price than that of product 1. By considering the cannibalization effect that depends on the selling price of each product, the manufacturer needs to evaluate the profit function associated with three different product line options: sell both products or only one of the 2 products. In order to examine the impact of costs, capacity, and competition on the optimal product line selection, optimal price, and optimal production quantity analytically, we present a stylized model in this paper so that we can determine the conditions under which a particular option is optimal.     

An EOQ model for perishable products with discounted selling price and stock dependent demand

A single item economic order quantity model is considered in which the demand is stock dependent. After a certain time the product starts to deteriorate and due to visualization effect and other aspects of deterioration the demand becomes constant. In that situation a discount on selling price provides significant increment in demand rate. In this paper we investigate how much discount on selling price may be given during deterioration to maximize the profit per unit time and whether a pre-deterioration discount affects the unit profit or not. A mathematical model is developed incorporating both pre- and post deterioration discounts on unit selling price, where analytical results reveal some important characteristics of discount structure. A numerical example is presented and sensitivity analysis of the model is carried out.     

Double optimal stopping times and dynamic pricing problem: description of the mathematical model

In many industries, managers face the problem of selling a given stock of items by a deadline. We investigate the problem of dynamically pricing such inventories when demand is price sensitive and stochastic and the firm’s objective is to maximize expected revenues. Examples that fit this framework include retailers selling fashion and seasonal goods and the travel and leisure industry, which markets space such as seats on airline flights, cabins on vacation cruises, hotels renting rooms before midnight and theaters selling seats before curtain time that become worthless if not sold by a specific time. Given a fixed number of seats, rooms, or coats, the objective for these industries is to maximize revenues in excess of salvage value. When demand is price sensitive and stochastic, pricing is an effective tool to maximize revenues. In this paper, we address the problem of deciding the optimal timing of a double price changes from a given initial price to given lower or higher prices. Under mild conditions, it is shown that it is optimal to decrease the initial price as soon as the time-to-go falls below a time threshold and increase the price if time-to-go is longer than adequate time threshold. These thresholds depend on the number of yet unsold items.      

Retailer’s optimal pricing and lot-sizing policies for deteriorating items with partial backlogging

Pricing is a major strategy for a retailer to obtain its maximum profit. Therefore, in this paper, we establish an economic order quantity model for a retailer to determine its optimal selling price, replenishment number and replenishment schedule with partial backlogging. We first prove that the optimal replenishment schedule not only exists but also is unique, for any given selling price. Next, we show that the total profit is a concave function of p when the replenishment number and schedule are given. We then provide a simple algorithm to find the optimal selling price, replenishment number and replenishment timing for the proposed model. Finally, we use a couple of numerical examples to illustrate the algorithm.     

单向可替代产品价格和库存的联合决策

考虑单周期问题中零售商同时销售两种可单向替代的产品,以期望利润为目标函数建立数学模型.将库存和替代价格共同作为零售商决策变量,证明其目标函数是凹函数,并得到求模型最优解的充要条件及解存在的范围.最后假设产品需求为正态分布,通过数值实验对模型的最优解进行分析,结果表明:实行最优替代价格策略可以有效提高零售商期望利润;允许替代销售不一定提高市场服务水平;被替代产品的销售价格和残值对零售商的最优替代价格决策没有显著影响.     

Optimal multi-period service capacity allocation and pricing allowing for uncertain competitive entry

A nonlinear programming model is formulated in this paper to determine the optimal scheme of capacity allocation and prices over a multi-period planning horizon for a service provider in the absence and presence of uncertain competitive entry. The model is solved for constant, decreasing, and increasing price sensitivities employing a combination of analytical and numerical methods. The study highlights the importance of advance selling of service prior to its eventual consumption in the spot period and investigates the impact of uncertain competitive entry on the optimal capacity allocation policy and its related profit if the entry is more or less likely or if the rival is more or less influential. The findings of the study reveal that the conclusions drawn from a two-period model are not necessarily generalizable to a model of a multi-period planning horizon.     

考虑线下渠道时销售商在团购网站上的最优销售策略研究

基于团购网站和销售商的典型合作模式,考虑了团购网站和线下市场的相互影响,用非线性优化理论为基础以销售商制定团购上限和团购项目定价为决策变量,考虑团购价格和最低团购数量的约束条件,建立模型优化,求解出销售商推出团购项目的最优策略。考虑到团购网站下限和团购网站销售成本以及网上销售的广告效用,分析了销售商是否应该制定团购上限,如何结合团购项目定价制定团购上限。探讨了在线低价限量销售的优势,以及顾客转移购买率和团购下限对销售商策略选择的影响。通过和单一线下渠道的最优销售策略相比较,得出销售商推出团购项目的前提条件。同时为团购网站运营商如何引导销售商推出低价团购项目提供了管理启示。     

Airline pricing and fare product differentiation: A new theoretical framework

A basic premise in the development of yield management has been that the differentiated fare products offered by airlines are targeted to distinct segments of the total demand for air travel in a market, each of which compete for space on a fixed capacity aircraft. Such representations of differential pricing assume that the airline can segment its demand perfectly and without cost to consumers, and further, ignore the dependence of the demand for a given fare product on the price levels and characteristics of the other available fare products. In this paper, we introduce a new ‘generalised cost’ model of fare product differentiation that incorporates the relationships between available airline fare products as well as the cost incurred by consumers of accepting more restrictions. We extend the model to incorporate the diversion of passengers to lower-priced fare products as a result of their ability to meet the additional restrictions imposed by airlines, and then demonstrate how seat inventory control can be used to induce diverting passengers to ‘sell up’ to higher-priced fare products by applying booking limits. An example of how the model can be used for joint fare product price level optimisation is presented, along with a numerical example that illustrates the extent to which the conventional model of price discrimination over-estimates passenger demand and, in turn, total airline revenues.     

Optimal spot market inventory strategies in the presence of cost and price risk

We consider a firm facing random demand at the end of a single period of random length. At any time during the period, the firm can either increase or decrease inventory by buying or selling on a spot market where price fluctuates randomly over time. The firm’s goal is to maximize expected discounted profit over the period, where profit consists of the revenue from selling goods to meet demand, on the spot market, or in salvage, minus the cost of buying goods, and transaction, penalty, and holding costs. We first show that this optimization problem is equivalent to a two-dimensional singular control problem. We then use a recently developed control-theoretic approach to show that the optimal policy is completely characterized by a simple price-dependent two-threshold policy. In a series of computational experiments, we explore the value of actively managing inventory during the period rather than making a purchase decision at the start of the period, and then passively waiting for demand. In these experiments, we observe that as price volatility increases, the value of actively managing inventory increases until some limit is reached.     

Robust optimal dynamic production/pricing policies in a closed-loop system

Hybrid manufacturing/remanufacturing systems play a key role in implementing closed-loop production systems which have been considered due to increasingly environmental concerns and latent profit of used products. Manufacturing and remanufacturing rates, selling price of new products, and acquisition price of used products are the most critical variables to optimize in such hybrid systems. In this paper, we develop a dynamic production/pricing problem, in which decisions should be made in each period confronting with uncertain demand and return. The manufacturer is able to control the demand and return by adjusting selling price and acquisition price respectively, also she can stock inventories of used and new products to deal with uncertainties. Modeling a nominal profit maximization problem, we go through robust optimization approach to reformulate it for the uncertain case. Final robust optimization model is obtained as a quadratic programming model over discrete periods which can be solved by optimization packages of QP. A numerical example is defined and sensitivity analysis is performed on both basic parameters and parameters associated with uncertainty to create managerial views.     

Inventory policy for products with price and time-dependent demands

This paper investigates the problem of jointly determining the order size and optimal prices for a perishable inventory system under the condition that demand is time and price dependent. It is assumed that a decision-maker has the opportunity to adjust prices before the end of the sales season to influence demand and to improve revenues. A mathematical model is developed to find the optimal number of prices, the optimal prices and the order quantity. Analytical results show that a stationary solution to the Kuhn–Tucker necessary conditions can be found and it is shown to be the optimal solution. The analytical results lead us to derive a solution procedure for determining the optimal order size and prices.     

Optimal economic growth with foreign trade and a learning industry

Ryder (Ref. 1) has developed a simple two-sector macroeconomic model incorporatinglearning by doing as a determinant of the growth of productivity-enhancing experience and its effect on foreign trade. In this paper, optimal foreign trade and capital allocation policies are determined, in the context of the above model, for ranges of the international trade price not considered by Ryder. An extension of Ryder's model to include a dual trade price structure is briefly discussed. A specific numerical example is used to ascertain the configuration of the various features occurring in the extremal fields at different price levels.