Heuristics for sourcing from multiple suppliers with alternative quantity discounts

In this paper, we analyze the impact of supplier pricing schemes and supplier capacity limitations on the optimal sourcing policy for a single firm. We consider the situation where the total quantity to be procured for a single period is known by the firm and communicated to the supplier set. In response to this communication, each supplier quotes a price and a capacity limit in terms of a maximum quantity that can be supplied to the buyer. Based on this information, the buyer makes a quantity allocation decision among the suppliers and corresponding to this decision is the choice of a subset of suppliers who will receive an order. Based on industry observations, a variety of supplier pricing schemes from the constituent group of suppliers are analyzed, including linear discounts, incremental units discounts, and all units discounts. Given the complexity of the optimization problem for certain types of pricing schemes, heuristic solution methodologies are developed to identify a quantity allocation decision for the firm. Through an extensive computational comparison, we find that these heuristics generate near-optimal solutions very quickly. Data from a major office products retailer is used to illustrate the resulting sourcing strategies given different pricing schemes and capacity limitations of suppliers in this industry. We find for the case of capacity constrained suppliers, the optimal quantity allocations for two complex pricing schemes (linear discount, and incremental units discount) are such that at most one selected supplier will receive an order quantity that is less than its capacity.     

服务水平约束下动态定价与库存管理

本文研究服务水平约束下的动态定价与库存管理问题。企业在有限期内销售某种产品,产品的需求为随机需求,且期望需求依赖于产品价格。在每一期期初,企业需要在满足服务水平约束的条件下同时决定订货量和产品价格。本文首先构建了动态定价和订购联合决策的随机动态规划模型,并证明了最优解的存在性。进一步,通过对最优解的结构进行刻画,将原问题的求解转化为若干子问题的求解,降低了问题求解的难度。通过对最优解的分析发现,当期初库存增大时,产品最优价格降低。通过分析目标服务水平对利润的影响,证明了服务水平与利润之间存在权衡,实现高的服务水平需要承受利润损失。数值模拟表明,相对于传统的静态定价策略,采用动态定价策略可以降低追求服务水平所带来的利润损失,验证了动态定价策略的有效性。     

Revenue management for low-cost providers

Low-cost providers have emerged as important players in many service industries, the most predominant being low-cost, or the so-called discount airlines. This paper presents models and results leading toward understanding the revenue management outlook for a discount pricing firm. A framework and model is formulated specifically for the airline industry, but is generalizable to low-cost providers in similar revenue management settings. We formulate an optimal pricing control model for a firm that must underprice to capture a segment of exogenous demand. Two specific model formulations are considered: a continuous deterministic version, and a discrete stochastic version. Structural results are derived for the deterministic case, providing insight into the general form of optimal underpricing policies. The stochastic results support the structural insight from the deterministic solution, and illuminate the effect of randomness on the underpricing policies.     

供应商歧视定价下网络零售商店内推介策略研究

研究了供应商歧视定价时网络零售商店内推介策略。首先,以供应商统一定价模型为基准,通过逆推归纳法求解不同推介策略组合下零售商和供应商的均衡利润,研究发现:仅当消费者对两家零售商认知差异较小时四种推介策略组合才能同时成立,且随着推介费用的增大两零售商均衡推介策略依次为:都不推介、仅强势零售商1推介和双向推介。其次,构建供应商歧视定价模型,发现歧视定价有利于弱势零售商2获得市场空间,随着消费者对两家零售商感知差异和推介费用的变化呈现出多样化的均衡推介策略。最后,探讨了两种定价模型下供应商的最优利润,发现受推介策略的影响歧视定价未必能够为供应商带来更多利润。     

Optimal dynamic pricing of inventories with stochastic demand and discounted criterion

We consider a continuous time dynamic pricing problem for selling a given number of items over a finite or infinite time horizon. The demand is price sensitive and follows a non-homogeneous Poisson process. We formulate this problem as to maximize the expected discounted revenue and obtain the structural properties of the optimal revenue function and optimal price policy by the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation. Moreover, we study the impact of the discount rate on the optimal revenue function and the optimal price. Further, we extend the problem to the case with discounting and time-varying demand, the infinite time horizon problem. Numerical examples are used to illustrate our analytical results.     

Dynamic pricing with uncertain production cost: An alternating-move approach

This article studies a two-firm dynamic pricing model with random production costs. The firms produce the same perishable products over an infinite time horizon when production (or operation) costs are random. In each period, each firm determines its price and production levels based on its current production cost and its opponent’s previous price level. We use an alternating-move game to model this problem and show that there exists a unique subgame perfect Nash equilibrium in production and pricing decisions. We provide a closed-form solution for the firm’s pricing policy. Finally, we study the game in the case of incomplete information, when both or one of the firms do not have access to the current prices charged by their opponents.     

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.     

Two-stage pricing for custom-made products

A commonly observed two-stage pricing strategy for a custom-made product involves a pre-purchase entry fee for a potential consumer and a purchase price if he decides to buy the product. We solve and compare two settings: In the first, the firm does not commit in advance to the second-stage price and in the second, the firm does. We show that without a commitment mechanism, the two price points are strategic complements, in that the higher pre-product fee implies a higher post-product price. With commitment, the two price points are strategic substitutes and the firm can improve profit over the no-commitment case by offering a low purchase price in the second stage and extracting the surplus through an entry fee. When the production cost is low, the commitment solution benefits both the firm and the consumer.     

A continuous-time dynamic pricing model knowing the competitor’s pricing strategy

In this paper we consider a dynamic pricing model for a firm knowing that a competitor adopts a static pricing strategy. We establish a continuous time model to analyze the effect of dynamic pricing on the improvement in expected revenue in the duopoly. We assume that customers arrive to purchase tickets in accordance with a geometric Brownian motion. We derive an explicit closed-form expression for an optimal pricing policy to maximize the expected revenue. It is shown that when the competitor adopts a static pricing policy, dynamic pricing is not always effective in terms of maximizing expected revenue compared to a fixed pricing strategy. Moreover, we show that the size of the reduction in the expected revenue depends on the competitor’s pricing strategy. Numerical results are presented to illustrate the dynamic pricing policy.     

考虑地位效应时炫耀性虚拟商品的最优定价与普及版本化

考虑地位效应的影响,针对炫耀性虚拟商品,决策最优定价和普及版本化。建立了单标准版策略、双版本免费普及策略和双版本销售策略等三种模型,求解得到企业在对应策略下对单版本或双版本的炫耀性虚拟商品的最优定价,在此基础上分析得到地位效应对虚拟商品价格、企业利润和最优普及版本化策略的影响。研究发现地位效应是导致标准版炫耀性虚拟商品价格和企业利润提升的因素;当存在地位效应时,双版本销售策略是炫耀性虚拟商品的最优普及版本化策略;但双版本销售策略相比于单标准版策略的优势在一定条件下因网络外部性增强而削弱。     

中国民航机票折扣定价策略研究

在分析中国民航票价演变的基础上,研究了垄断航空公司折扣票价的利润最大化问题,对比分析了在单一价格、外生型价格歧视和内生型价格歧视三种情形下,折扣率对利润、价格和产出的影响,研究表明:内生型价格歧视的利润和产出大于外生型价格歧视下的利润和产出,而价格歧视下的利润大于单一价格下的利润,折扣票价的有效实施应以分隔各子市场为前提。进一步的研究应扩展到多级票价和动态定价中去。     

Hybrid pricing in a coupled European power market with more wind power

In the European electricity market, the promotion of wind power leads to more network congestion. Zonal pricing (market coupling), which does not take the physical characteristics of transmission into account, is the most commonly used method to relieve network congestion in Europe. However, zonal pricing fails to provide adequate locational price signals regarding scarcity of energy and thus creates a large amount of unscheduled cross-border flows originating from wind-generated power. In this paper, we investigate the effects of applying a hybrid congestion management model, i.e., a nodal pricing model for one country embedded in a zonal pricing system for the rest of the market. We find that, compared to full nodal pricing, hybrid pricing fails to fully utilize all the resources in the network and some wrong price signals might be given. However, hybrid pricing still outperforms zonal pricing. The results from the study cases show that, within the area applying nodal pricing, better price signals are given; the need for re-dispatching is reduced; more congestion rent is collected domestically and the unit cost of power is reduced.     

一种电子商务环境下耐用品的动态定价模型与策略

针对电子商务环境下消费者对价格歧视的抗拒问题,以及耐用品生命周期长、产品需求依赖于时间、价格等特点,提出了一种动态定价模型与策略。该模型通过构造转移概率矩阵,推导出在线消费者浏览到耐用品的不同价格状态下的概率,接着根据消费者多阶段效用函数分析消费者的购买决策行为,进而给出零售商利润达到最大化时的最优定价策略集合。为了验证模型与策略的有效性,通过数值模拟实验,分析模型主要参数变化对最优定价策略的影响。研究发现当效用折扣因子越高,零售商应该降低促销频率和高价格并且提高低价格,从而诱导高端消费者在高价格购买产品。折扣效用因子大小还决定了网上零售商是否要隐藏自己的促销概率。     

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.     

Single facility location on a network under mill and delivered pricing

^** E-mail: pelegrin{at}um.es Firms normally use either a mill price or a delivered pricepolicy, depending on market conditions (type of good, transportationway, customers location, costs, etc). In this paper, the problemof selecting the best location for an entering firm in competitionwith some pre-existing firms, under each price policy, is studiedon a network for the first time. With mill pricing, an equilibriumin price rarely exists and it is assumed that all competingfirms set a common mill price for all customers. With deliveredpricing, there exists a Nash equilibrium in price and it isassumed that the equilibrium price in each area is offered tothe customers in that area. In both cases, we consider thatcustomers buy from the cheapest facility and the same rulesare used for tie breaking in the lowest cost. While the profitmaximization problem for the entering firm always has optimalsolutions under mill pricing, this problem might not have anoptimal solution under delivered pricing. We show some discretizationresults and give procedures to find the full set of optimal,or -optimal, solutions to the problem under the two price policies.A comparison of results with the two price policies is givenby using an illustrative example.     

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。     

Price and QoS competition in data communication services

Pricing of data communication services has been studied, but primarily in a monopolistic setting. We study the price competition in packet-switching networks with a quality-of-service (QoS) guarantee in terms of an expected per-packet delay. We propose a general framework in which service providers offering multi-class priority-based services compete to maximize their profits, while satisfying the expected delay guarantee in each class. We first examine the price competition with fixed delay guarantees and then extend it to the situation where providers compete in quality of service as well as price. In each case, we compare the duopoly pricing scheme with the case when two service providers merge to become a monopoly provider.     

E-retailing of restaurant services: pricing strategies in a competing online environment

Establishing online channels and providing online discounts by building business partner relationships with third-party websites have emerged as important and effective marketing strategies in the restaurant industry. This study examines the optimal pricing strategy of restaurants in a competing environment when they participate in this relationship with a third-party website. Results suggest that neither participation nor online price discount should be encouraged for all restaurants. In particular, for a restaurant with a fixed service capacity, participation and online price discount are recommended when the number of offline loyal customers is relatively small. With the increase in the number of loyal offline customers, the optimal online discount rate decreases, whereas the unit commission fee for the third-party website remains constant. When the optimal discount rate reaches zero, the optimal decision for the restaurant is to decrease the unit commission fee. Based on these findings, this study analytically provides the optimal pricing strategies for restaurants and the corresponding boundaries for the strategy set.     

Two-period dynamic versus fixed-ratio pricing in a capacity constrained duopoly

This paper analyzes the impact of dynamic and fixed-ratio pricing policies on firm profits and equilibrium prices under competition. Firms that have equal inventories of perfectly substitutable and perishable products compete for customer segments that demand the product at different times. In each period, customers first purchase from the low price firm and then from the high price firm up to their inventories, provided the prices are lower than the maximum they are willing to pay. The main conclusions of this paper are as follows: although dynamic pricing is a more sophisticated policy than fixed-ratio pricing, it may lead to decreased equilibrium profits; under both pricing policies, one firm assumes the role of a low-cost high-output firm while the other assumes the role of a high-cost low-output firm; and, the supply demand ratio has more impact on the outcome of the competition than the heterogeneity in consumer reservation prices.     

Periodic pricing and replenishment policy for continuously decaying inventory with multivariate demand

This paper deals with the joint decisions on pricing and replenishment schedule for a periodic review inventory system in which a replenishment order may be placed at the beginning of some or all of the periods. We consider a single product which is subject to continuous decay and a demand which is a function of price and time, without backlogging over a finite planning horizon. The proposed scheme may adjust periodically the selling price upward or downward that makes the pricing policy more responsive to structure changes in supply or demand. The problem is formulated as a dynamic programming model and solved by numerical search techniques. An extensive numerical study is conducted to attend qualitative insights into the structures of the proposed policy and its sensitivity with respect to major parameters. The numerical result shows that the solution generated by the periodic policy outperforms that by the fixed pricing policy in maximizing discount profit.