Fixture-Aware Floor Space Allocation Optimizer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current solutions for optimizing retail space allocation fail to effectively handle business constraints such as mandatory placements, forbidden positions, and required colocations, leading to suboptimal profitability in retail store layouts.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method and system that uses fixture data, business rule data, and benefit data to search for optimized arrangements of product categories on merchandizing fixtures through a branching strategy, solving the Multiple Choice Multiple Knapsack Problem to maximize profitability while adhering to business rules.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all possible arrangements of product categories on merchandizing fixtures are searched to ensure optimal profitability, then the benefit maximization is improved, but the computational time and complexity increase exponentially
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-calculating and storing benefit data for different space allocations and colocations of product categories. This pre-computation allows the optimization algorithm to query pre-prepared benefit information rather than calculating it from scratch during the search, significantly reducing computational time while maintaining optimality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the complex optimization problem into manageable components by separately handling fixture assignments, space allocations, and colocation decisions. The search space is divided into discrete arrangements that can be evaluated independently, allowing the system to process combinations systematically without overwhelming computational burden.
2Reliability
If business rules such as mandatory placements, forbidden positions, and required colocations are enforced, then the reliability of the allocation solution is improved, but the complexity of the allocation system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by implementing business rules at specific locations and contexts rather than through a single complex global constraint system. Each business rule (mandatory placement, forbidden position, required colocation) is applied locally to specific fixture-category assignments, making the overall system more manageable and easier to verify.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer in the form of benefit data that mediates between business rules and the optimization algorithm. The benefit data encodes the effects of business rules, allowing the optimizer to work with simplified representations while still enforcing all constraints through the benefit calculations rather than direct constraint checking.
3Productivity
If more product categories are allocated to fixtures to maximize space utilization, then the profitability is improved, but the difficulty of satisfying business rules increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback through benefit data that reflects both space utilization and business rule compliance. The benefit calculations incorporate information about whether allocations satisfy business rules, providing feedback to the optimization algorithm that guides it toward solutions that maximize productivity while automatically ensuring constraint satisfaction.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for automatically allocating floor space includes obtaining: (i) fixture data, (ii) business rule data, and (iii) benefit data. The method further includes searching a plurality of arrangements of the plurality of categories of products on the plurality of merchandizing fixtures according to the obtained data and determining an allocation solution. The allocation solution specifies a combination of the plurality of categories of products, an identification of ones of the plurality of merchandizing fixtures allocated to each of the combination of the plurality of categories of products, and an amount of the ones of the plurality of merchandizing fixtures allocated to each of the combination of the plurality of categories of products.