Refine
Document Type
- Doctoral thesis (2)
Institute
- Wirtschaftswissenschaften (2) (remove)
Language
- English (2)
Keywords
- Retail operations (2) (remove)
The cumulative dissertation "Optimization models for shelf space allocation in retail stores" consists of the four individual scientific contributions listed below:
1. Düsterhöft, Tobias, Hübner, Alexander and Schaal, Kai (2020): A practical approach to the shelf-space allocation and replenishment problem with heterogeneously sized shelves.
2. Hübner, Alexander, Düsterhöft, Tobias and Ostermeier, Manuel (2020): An optimization approach for product allocation with integrated shelf space dimensioning in retail stores.
3. Ostermeier, Manuel, Düsterhöft, Tobias and Hübner, Alexander (2020): A model for the store wide shelf space allocation.
4 Düsterhöft, Tobias (2020): Retail shelf space planning - Differences, problems and opportunities of applied optimization models.
The planning and best possible utilization of the available shelf space is of central importance for retailers. Shelf space is a scarce resource in stores today. Shelf planners need to determine optimal shelf spaces for each item within product allocation. Researchers have already developed several decision support models. Usually, these models have in common that they can make a decision on the number of facings per product. A facing is a visible sales unit of a product on the shelf. Behind a facing, depending on the depth of the shelf further sales units are located. With an increase in the number of facings the visibility of the product for customers is also increasing, which is associated with a certain demand effect, the so-called space elasticity.
The content of this dissertation are optimization models that extend existing approaches to product allocation significantly and thus also enable a practical application of these approaches. Within the framework of a practical project substantial new contents for the product allocation can be determined. The resulting optimization models build on each other. Initially, in the 1st article the product allocation is extended by an exact consideration of the shelf space dimensions. The resulting question of the optimal shelf layout is the central part of the 2nd article. If the layouts of shelves are determined on the shelf, the total shelf space per category must be known beforehand. This question is dealt with in the 3rd article. Finally, new research fields are identified in the 4th article based on current real processes and requirements.
The essays of the cumulative dissertation are concerned with the topic of retail shelf-space optimization.
Increasing product proliferation as well as decreasing space productivity force retailers to efficiently use the limited retail shelf space and assign the right shelf quantities to products they offer to customers. Optimization models support retailers with these decisions.
The first essay analyzes how demand volatility can be integrated into shelf-space optimization models. The developed optimization model furthermore accounts for space- and cross-space elasticities as well as vertical shelf positions. A specialized heuristic solves the model efficiently and returns near-optimal results. The second essay builds on the optimization model developed in the first essay and conducts extensive numerical analyses to examine the impact of cross-space elasticities on optimal shelf quantities. The essay shows that cross-space elasticities have a negligible impact on space decisions. Therefore, the complex measurement as well as the development of corresponding optimization models are of minor relevance for future research.
The third and fifth essay extend the optimization model from the first essay by integrating adjacent decision problems. The third essay accounts for the assortment decision, i.e., supports retailers in selecting the products to offer. Apart from space elasticities, the model accounts for substitution behavior in case items are unavailable and shows that both demand effects reinforce each other, which is why they should be accounted for simultaneously. The fifth essay shows how retails can furthermore guarantee the efficient replenishment of shelves and examines the impact of the availability of a backroom on optimal shelf quantities.
The fourth essay improves the algorithm developed for the optimization model from the third essay. The improved heuristic yields higher retail profits in shorter runtime.