基于贝叶斯信息更新的动态库存与定价研究

考虑价格对需求量的扰动并利用贝叶斯公式对需求分布函数中的未知参数进行不断学习更新,研究缺货部分比例延迟交货情形下的动态库存与动态定价问题,刻画了最优利润函数的性质并证明了"基准库存列表价格"是最优的库存价格水平,并由此得到了最优的补货策略和定价策略。     

考虑返回补偿策略的制造与再制造的最优决策

作为减少成本的一种有效方式,近年来,再制造获得了企业越来越多的关注.对于再制造企业,如何有效地返回产品是一个基本的问题,为此,考虑了一个返回补偿策略,即企业支付给愿意返回产品的消费者一个价格补偿.在这个策略下,回收数量是随机需求的一个比例.研究了一个两周期的库存系统,企业需要在每周期初决策新材料的采购数量以及分配给制造和再制造方式的生产数量.通过建立一个三级随机动态规划模型,给出了制造和再制造混合系统对于已实现需求的最优生产策略,同时证明了每个周期的目标函数对于库存补充数量是凸的,进而证明基本的库存策略仍然是最优的.最后从管理者的角度进行了数值分析.     

需求依赖于服务水平的易变质品库存策略研究

本文研究需求依赖于上一周期服务水平、缺货时订单部分损失的两周期易变质品库存问题。分别考虑一次订货和多次订货两种情况,以平均利润最大化为目标构建库存模型,证明了模型解的存在性和唯一性,得到了最优库存服务水平和最优补货策略。最后,通过算例给出两个模型的应用,对重要参数进行了灵敏度分析,并且将两种模型的结果进行了对比分析。结果表明:订单损失率的增加会提高服务水平,但会使得利润降低;顾客期望服务水平的提高会降低第一阶段的服务水平,同时使利润减少;单位库存持有成本或变质率的增加会降低服务水平和平均利润。通常情况,企业通过多次订货能获得更大的利润,而只有当库存持有成本极小时,一次订购才能够获得更大的利润。同时,结果也表明:服务水平对库存策略有较大的影响,因此在进行库存决策时考虑服务水平具有重要的作用。     

快速补货模式下的动态定价与库存联合策略

在供应有限的情况下,研究常规补货和快速补货下商品动态定价问题.首先,建立了动态规划模型,理论证明了最优库存策略是基于(s,S)策略下改进的基本库存策略.其次,提出了一种启发式策略求复杂系统的最优策略,启发式算法能够求出最优价格和最优库存水平.最后,数值算例研究表明,库存管理中采用快速补货提高了零售商的利润;初始库存水平越高零售商的利润越高.     

双向替代产品库存模型研究

运用最优控制理论和数理经济学方法研究了供应链管理时代下广泛存在的双向替代产品的最优库存问题,建立了利润最大化前提下的双向替代品的库存模型,证明了该问题解的存在性,并给出了求解最优订货量的方法步骤,可为实施有效的库存管理、降低企业的物流成本提供借鉴.     

具有Weibull生存死亡特征的冷链品库存补货定价策略研究

建立了无限期内冷链品具有Weibull生存死亡特征、随机需求且受售价影响的库存补货定价模型,其中售价是连续变化的,需求率是售价的指数函数,变质率服从的三参数Weibull分布,提前期固定。系统以利润最大化为目标函数,在(r,Q)库存策略下,建立库存模型,采用直接法,对模型近似求解,得到最优补货定价策略。利用Matlab进行算例模拟和灵敏度分析发现:补货提前期和单位仓储成本对补货定价策略影响较大,二者增大会导致系统利润降低;单位处理成本的增加,在一定程度上使得系统降低最优补货量,使系统利润增加;保鲜期固定的前提下,受冷链品的流动环境因子和存储环境因子影响的变质率对补货定价策略影响较大,它的增大会使系统利润降低。这些发现能够帮助优化系统模型,对现实问题具有一定的指导意义。     

考虑消费者行为转化的零售商两阶段动态定价研究

考虑消费者呈现的不同行为特征,将其划分为两类:策略型和短视型。不同类型的消费者对同一产品会给出差别估价,假设这一估价呈随机分布,研究存在消费者行为转化的产品两阶段动态定价问题。引入消费者剩余对策略型和短视型消费者的市场响应特征进行描述,考虑贴现率,建立两阶段动态定价模型,分析不同类型消费者的差别决策过程,并且采用逆推法求解动态定价模型,得到最优价格策略。研究表明消费者期望购买数量与降价幅度都和转化率成负相关,此外,通过对比考虑转化和不考虑转化的两种情形下零售商总的期望利润,发现如果零售商没有考虑转化率而仅根据市场初期调查的消费者构成来进行产品定价将会给零售商带来损失,并且两种情形的利润差值随转化率的升高呈先上升后下降的变化趋势。     

考虑顾客退货和固定成本的联合补货与定价策略

为了吸引更多顾客,许多电子商务零售商允许顾客在一定时间内退货,导致其利润明显减少。同时,在补货时不仅产生依赖补货量的变动成本,而且会产生与补货量无关的固定成本。基于此,以最大化电子商务零售商的利润为目标,建立考虑顾客退货和固定成本的联合补货与定价模型,其中顾客的退货量与满足的需求呈正比。在一般需求情形下,部分刻画多期问题的最优策略;在特殊需求情形下,证明(s,S,p)策略对单期问题最优,并对多期问题的最优策略进行严格刻画。根据已有刻画为多期问题构造启发式策略。数值结果表明启发式策略近似最优;当初始库存水平足够高/低时,最优补货水平和定价随退货率与固定成本单调变化。关键词:联合补货与定价模型;顾客退货;固定成本;随机动态规划;最优策略     

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.     

考虑策略性消费者受不确定性社交影响的双渠道定价策略研究

随着互联网等新兴技术的发展,消费者对产品的价格追踪以及学习更加便利,其购买决策也会受到其他参与者决策的影响.消费者根据产品的上市价格和清仓时的可获得性决策购买时间,这种自身策略等待及受外部他人社交影响的行为加剧了市场需求的不确定性.承诺定价与差价补偿定价策略能有效地缓解消费者的策略等待行为,但相对动态定价策略缺少灵活性与便利性.因此文章研究零售商在动态定价、承诺定价、差价补偿定价策略中的选择问题.运用消费者偏好理论、博弈论和最优化理论求解各种模型的最优解及存在条件,进一步探讨消费者学习能力和社交影响对最优解的影响.结论表明,当消费者学习能力大于一定水平时,零售商应选择差价补偿定价,否则承诺定价为最优选择;消费者的学习能力增加了实体渠道的最优零售价和零售商整体利润,但降低了线上渠道的最优价格:社交影响有利于双渠道最优价格和零售商最优利润的增加.最后通过数值分析验证了上述模型的有效性和可靠性.     

Dynamic pricing for perishable items with costly price adjustments

Dynamic pricing is widely adopted in inventory management for perishable items, and the corresponding price adjustment cost should be taken into account. This work assumes that the price adjustment cost comprises of a fixed component and a variable one, and attempts to search for the optimal dynamic pricing strategy to maximize the firm’s profit. However, considering the fixed price adjustment cost turns this dynamic pricing problem to a non-smooth optimal control problem which cannot be solved directly by Pontryagin’s maximum principle. Hence, we first degenerate the original problem into a standard optimal control problem and calculate the corresponding solution. On the basis of this solution, we further propose a suboptimal pricing strategy which simultaneously combines static pricing and dynamic pricing strategies. The upper bound of profit gap between the suboptimal solution and the optimal one is obtained. Numerical simulation indicates that the suboptimal pricing strategy enjoys an efficient performance.     

Optimal pricing,production, and inventory for deteriorating items under demand uncertainty: The finite horizon case

This paper aims to investigate the joint dynamic pricing and production decisions of deteriorating items with uncertain demand over a finite selling season, where the demand is price sensitive and the potential demand is characterized by a stochastic process. The stocks deteriorate physically at a constant fraction of the on-hand inventory. A joint dynamic pricing and production problem to maximize the total expected profit is modeled as a stochastic optimal control problem. We derive the closed-form solutions, which are in time-dependent linear feedback form of the inventory level when it is either positive or negative. It is shown that the manufacturer always benefits from a reduction in the volatility of potential market demand. In addition, to highlight the effectiveness of the joint dynamic strategy, we also consider the case of optimal production with a static price. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the validity of the optimal control policy, and sensitivity analysis on major parameters is performed to provide more managerial insights into deteriorating items.     

A joint dynamic pricing and advertising model of perishable products

Advertising and dynamic pricing play key roles in maximizing profit of a firm. In this paper a joint dynamic pricing and advertising problem for perishable products is investigated, where the time-varying demand rate is decreasing in sales price and increasing in goodwill. A dynamic optimization model is proposed to maximize total profit by setting a joint pricing and advertising policy under the constraint of a limited advertising capacity. By solving the dynamic optimization problem on the basis of Pontryagin’s maximum principle, the analytical solutions of the optimal joint dynamic pricing and advertising policy are obtained. Additionally, to highlight the advantage of the joint dynamic strategy, the case of the optimal advertising with static pricing policy is considered. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the validness of the theoretical results, and some managerial implications for the pricing and advertising of the perishable products are provided.     

Market selection decisions for inventory models with price-sensitive demand

In the majority of classical inventory theory literature, demand arises from exogenous sources upon which the firm has little or no control. In many practical contexts, however, aggregate demand is comprised of individual demands from a number of distinct customers or markets. This introduces new dimensions to supply chain planning problems involving the selection of markets or customers to include in the demand portfolio. We present a nonlinear, combinatorial optimization model to address planning decisions in both deterministic and stochastic settings, where a firm constructs a demand portfolio from a set of potential markets having price-sensitive demands. We first consider a pricing strategy that dictates a single price throughout all markets and provide an efficient algorithm for maximizing total profit. We also analyze the model under a market-specific pricing policy and describe its optimal solution. An extensive computational study characterizes the effects of key system parameters on the optimal value of expected profit, and provides some interesting insights on how a given market’s characteristics can affect optimal pricing decisions in other markets.     

Pricing and lot-sizing for a deteriorating item in a periodic review inventory system with shortages

We consider a single product that is, subject to continuous decay, a multivariate demand function of price and time, shortages allowed and completely backlogged in a periodic review inventory system in which the selling price is allowed to adjust upward or downward periodically. The objective of this paper is to determine the periodic selling price and lot-size over multiperiod planning horizon so that the total discount profit is maximized. The proposed model can be used as an add-in optimizer like an advanced planning system in an enterprise resource planning system that coordinates distinct functions within a firm. Particular attention is placed on investigating the effect of periodic pricing jointly with shortages on the total discount profit. The problem is formulated as a bivariate optimization model solved by dynamic programming techniques coupled with an iterative search process. An intensive numerical study shows that the periodic pricing is superior to the fixed pricing in profit maximization. It also clarifies that shortages strategy can be an effective cost control mechanism for managing deterioration inventory.     

Joint pricing and inventory replenishment decisions with returns and expediting

We study a single-item periodic-review model for the joint pricing and inventory replenishment problem with returns and expediting. Demand in consecutive periods are independent random variables and their distributions are price sensitive. At the end of each period, after the demand is realized, a buyer can return excess stocks to a supplier. Or, if there are stockouts, the buyer can place an expediting order at the supplier to reduce the amount of shortage. Unfilled demands are fully backlogged. We characterize the optimal dynamic policy that determines the pricing, inventory replenishment, and adjustment decisions in each period so that the total expected discounted profit is maximized. For a very general stochastic demand function, we can show that the optimal replenishment policy is a modified base-stock policy, the optimal pricing policy is a modified base-stock-list-price policy, and the optimal policy for inventory adjustment follows a dual-threshold policy. We further study the operational effect of returns and expediting. Analytical and numerical results demonstrate that returns and expediting lead to a significant profit increase in a number of situations, including limited supply capacity, sufficient flexibility of the expediting order, high demand uncertainty, and a price-sensitive market.     

Dynamic pricing with real-time demand learning

In many service industries, the firm adjusts the product price dynamically by taking into account the current product inventory and the future demand distribution. Because the firm can easily monitor the product inventory, the success of dynamic pricing relies on an accurate demand forecast. In this paper, we consider a situation where the firm does not have an accurate demand forecast, but can only roughly estimate the customer arrival rate before the sale begins. As the sale moves forward, the firm uses real-time sales data to fine-tune this arrival rate estimation. We show how the firm can first use this modified arrival rate estimation to forecast the future demand distribution with better precision, and then use the new information to dynamically adjust the product price in order to maximize the expected total revenue. Numerical study shows that this strategy not only is nearly optimal, but also is robust when the true customer arrival rate is much different from the original forecast. Finally, we extend the results to four situations commonly encountered in practice: unobservable lost customers, time dependent arrival rate, batch demand, and discrete set of allowable prices.     

An EOQ model with stock and price sensitive demand

Many business practices show that the presence of a larger quantity of goods displayed may attract more customers than that with a smaller quantity of goods. This phenomenon implies that the demand may have a positive correlative with stock level. Under such a circumstance, a firm should seriously consider its pricing and ordering strategy since the demand for their goods may be affected by their selling prices and inventory level. This paper aims to develop a continuous inventory model for finding the strategy for a firm that sells a seasonal item over a finite planning time. The purpose of this firm is to maximize its expected profit by determining the optimal ordering quantity and price setting/changing strategy. Some sufficient conditions are found for finding the optimal decision rules.     

Temporary price increase during replenishment lead time

Pricing and inventory management make up together revenue management, which is a significant effort to boost revenues out of available resources. Firms use various forms of dynamic pricing, including personalized pricing, markdowns, promotions, coupons, discounts, and clearance sales, to respond to market fluctuations and demand uncertainty. In this paper, we study a temporary price increase policy, a form of dynamic pricing, for a non-perishable product, a practice used by several giant retailers such as Amazon, Walmart, and Apple. We develop a continuous review inventory model that allows for joint replenishment and pricing decisions, where the lead time is not zero. A replenishment decision controls supply, while a pricing decision controls demand. A manager exercises a temporary price increase to slow demand and avoid a stock-out situation while waiting for a shipment, which may not necessarily increase revenues, but decrease stock-out costs. The problem is to solve for the optimal replenishment and the pricing policy parameters that maximize the long-run expected profit. That is, when and how much to order and when to raise the price. In this paper, the inventory level and time trigger a price increase. We solve many numerical examples and perform extensive sensitivity analyses. Our results show that compared to a model that focuses on fixed pricing, our model brings an additional increase in profit of about 13%.