基于电子商务平台的服务模式选择研究

随着电子商务的迅猛发展,提供优质的服务已成为电商企业获取竞争优势的主要手段。本文重点探究了电商平台与零售商之间服务模式的策略性选择问题。本文通过建立理论模型,量化比较四个服务模式即A模式(零售商承担服务)、B 模式(零售商将服务外包给第三方)、C模式(平台承担服务)和D模式(平台将服务外包给第三方)的特点得出最优决策。研究得到如下结论:在成本结构相同的情况下,C模式具有最高的服务水平和市场利润,而A模式和B模式能为顾客提供最低的市场价格。平台和供应商更倾向于自己来提供服务,分散的服务模式会降低服务水平,但当商家自身服务成本较高时,他们更愿意让另一方或较低服务成本的第三方作为服务提供方。另外,本文还发现在A模式和B模式下,平台收取的佣金比例随着需求对服务的敏感程度的增加而降低,而C模式和D模式则相反。     

基于排队系统的偏好差异性顾客服务策略分析

在服务商为不同偏好顾客提供差异性服务的排队系统中,其收益受到需求规模、顾客类型等因素影响,如何制定策略才能达到服务特定类型顾客并获取最大收益的目的？本文以服务时间与效果正相关的顾客密集型服务为背景,基于M/M/1模型对服务商为两种偏好顾客提供两种服务的情景进行研究,并将从偏好服务所获基准效用相对较低、较高的顾客分别定义为1类、2类顾客。结果表明,①随着潜在顾客规模的增加,最优策略所适用的3种基本策略依次为公平策略、优先服务2类顾客的策略以及仅服务2类顾客的排他性策略;②3种基本策略的适用范围仅与1类顾客的服务选择标准相关;③在优先服务某类顾客的策略中,有效到达速率及服务速度由另一类顾客的特征决定。     

Queueing models for appointment-driven systems

Many service systems are appointment-driven. In such systems, customers make an appointment and join an external queue (also referred to as the “waiting list”). At the appointed date, the customer arrives at the service facility, joins an internal queue and receives service during a service session. After service, the customer leaves the system. Important measures of interest include the size of the waiting list, the waiting time at the service facility and server overtime. These performance measures may support strategic decision making concerning server capacity (e.g. how often, when and for how long should a server be online). We develop a new model to assess these performance measures. The model is a combination of a vacation queueing system and an appointment system.     

To wait or not to wait: Strategic behaviors in an observable batch-service queueing system

This paper deals with an observable batch service queueing system in which customers rationally choose whether to form a batch with another customer or not, in addition to deciding whether or not to join the queue. When choosing whether to form a batch, a customer in an incomplete batch decides on an optimal waiting time for the next customer to arrive and share the service fee. When choosing whether to join the queue, customers follow a threshold strategy, which depends on the strategy identified in the former game.     

When should service firms provide free experience service?

By providing a free experience service, a service firm can attract more uninformed customers. However, it could reversely effect the delay-sensitive, informed customers’ decision. In this paper, we study a priority queueing system with free experience services. We study the customer behavior in equilibrium after we derive the expected customer waiting time. We then construct the service firm’s revenue function and obtain an optimal strategy for the service firm. Our results suggest that when the market size of informed customers is relatively small, the firm should consider providing free experience services for uninformed customers. Conversely, if the demand rate of potential informed customers is quite high, the firm should ignore uninformed customers.     

A multi-depot period vehicle routing problem arising in the utilities sector

This paper considers the resource planning problem of a utility company that provides preventive maintenance services to a set of customers using a fleet of depot-based mobile gangs. The problem is to determine the boundaries of the geographic areas served by each depot, the list of customers visited each day and the routes followed by the gangs. The objective is to provide improved customer service at minimum operating cost subject to constraints on frequency of visits, service time requirements, customer preferences for visiting on particular days and other routing constraints. The problem is solved as a Multi-Depot Period Vehicle Routing Problem (MDPVRP). The computational implementation of the complete planning model is described with reference to a pilot study and results are presented. The solution algorithm is used to construct cost-service trade-off curves for all depots so that management can evaluate the impact of different customer service levels on total routing costs.     

Estimating characteristics of queueing networks using transactional data

We are motivated by queueing networks in which queues are difficult to observe but services are easy to record. Our goal is to estimate the queues from service data. More specifically, we consider an open queueing network with Poisson external arrivals, multi‐server stations, general service times and Markovian switches of customers between stations. Customers' transitions between stations may be either immediate or of exponentially distributed durations. Each customer is supplied with an Identification Number (ID) upon entering the network. Operational data is collected which includes transaction times (starts and terminations of services) and ID's of served customers. Our objective is to estimate the evolution of the queues in the network, given the collected data. We cover estimation at both end of busy periods and in real time. The applicability of the theory is demonstrated by analyzing a service operation. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

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。     

Customer equilibrium and optimal pricing in an M/G/1 queue with heterogeneous rewards and waiting cost rates

We consider an unobservable M/G/1 queue in which customers are allowed to join or balk upon arrival. The service provider charges the same admission fee to all joining customers. All joining customers receive a reward from completion of service and incur a waiting cost. The reward and waiting cost rate are random, however the customers know their own values upon arrival. We characterize the customer’s equilibrium strategy and the optimal prices associated with profit and social welfare maximization.     

Consumer preference and service quality management with RFID

The importance of accurately measuring consumer preference for service quality management to firms in exceedingly competitive environments where customers have an increasing array of access to information cannot be overstated. There has been a resurgence of interest in consumer preference measurement and service quality management, specifically real-time service management, as more data about customer behavior and means to process these data to generate actionable policies become available. Recent years have also witnessed the incorporation of Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) tags in a wide variety of applications where item-level information can be beneficially leveraged to provide competitive advantage. We propose a knowledge-based framework for real-time service management incorporating RFID-generated item-level identification data. We consider the economic motivations for adopting RFID solutions for customer service management through analysis of service quality, response speed and service dependability. We conclude by providing managerial insights on when and where managers should consider RFID-generated identification information to improve their customer services.