Profit maximizing through 3D shelf space allocation of 2D display orientation items with variable heights of the shelves

TLDR: Two display orientations for the items are considered and each orientation can have a different effect on selling the product and the total inventory and inventory of each product in the store can be obtained by considering the third dimension.

Abstract: In this paper, a shelf retail decision making model is proposed and examined the effect of different factors such as vertical and horizontal location, product cross elasticity, the number of items in eye-level, etc. The success of a retailer depends on his/her ability to adapt environmental changes through continuous decision making about how much and which product, should be placed from which horizontal level of which shelf, and with what display orientation. In this paper, shelves are considered 3-dimensionally, and in addition to the length and width of the shelves, the depth of the shelves is also effective in decision making. The height of the shelves has been considered as a variable, and its optimal value would be obtained by solving the proposed mathematical model. Considering the third dimension of shelf makes it possible to use the back space of shelves for the purpose of holding the inventory. In this paper, two display orientations for the items are considered and each orientation can have a different effect on selling the product. Items can be stacked on the shelves, but the note is that it is not possible to stack some of the item. By considering the third dimension, the total inventory and inventory of each product in the store can be obtained. For solving the model, genetic algorithm (GA) is proposed and the Taguchi method is applied for tuning parameter of the GA.