Optimal policies of yield management with multiple predetermined prices
成果类型：
Article
署名作者：
Feng, YY; Xiao, BC
署名单位：
National University of Singapore; Long Island University; Long Island University Post
刊物名称：
OPERATIONS RESEARCH
ISSN/ISSBN：
0030-364X
DOI：
10.1287/opre.48.2.332.13373
发表日期：
2000
页码：
332-343
关键词：
摘要：
It is a common practice for industries to price the same products at different levels. For example, airlines charge various fares for a common pool of seats. Seasonal products are sold at full or discount prices during different phases of the season. This article presents a model that reflects this yield management problem. The model assumes that (1) products are offered at multiple predetermined prices over time; (2) demand is price sensitive and obeys the Poisson process; and (3) price is allowed to change monotonically, i.e., either the markup or markdown policy is implemented. To maximize the expected revenue, management needs to determine the optimal times to switch between prices based on the remaining season and inventory. Major results in this research include (1) an exact solution for the continuous-time model; (2) piecewise concavity of the value function with respect to time and inventory; and (3) monotonicity of the optimal policy. The implementation of optimal policies is fairly facile because of the existence of threshold points embedded in the value function. The value function and time thresholds can be solved with a reasonable computation effort. Numerical examples are provided.