Optimal delivery service strategy for Internet shopping with time-dependent consumer demand

This study attempts to optimize a delivery service strategy for Internet shopping by considering time-dependent consumer demand, demand–supply interaction and consumer socioeconomic characteristics. A nonlinear mathematical programming model is formulated for solving the optimal number and duration of service cycles for discriminating strategy by maximizing profit subject to demand–supply interaction. An example is employed to demonstrate the application of the model. Results suggest that discriminating service strategy is a better strategy in response to time-dependent consumer demand than uniform strategy. Finally, the proposed model is demonstrated to yield more profit than models that do not consider variations in consumer demand or demand–supply interaction.