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TECHNICAL NOTE---A Note on Profit Maximization and Monotonicity for Inbound Call Centers

Author

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  • Ger Koole

    (Department of Mathematics, VU University Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

  • Auke Pot

    (CCmath, 1181 BH Amstelveen, The Netherlands)

Abstract

We consider an inbound call center with a fixed reward per call and communication and agent costs. By controlling the number of lines and the number of agents, we can maximize the profit. Abandonments are included in our performance model. Monotonicity results for the maximization problem are obtained, which lead to an efficient optimization procedure. We give a counterexample to the concavity in the number of agents, which is equivalent to saying that the law of diminishing returns does not hold. Numerical results are given.

Suggested Citation

  • Ger Koole & Auke Pot, 2011. "TECHNICAL NOTE---A Note on Profit Maximization and Monotonicity for Inbound Call Centers," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 59(5), pages 1304-1308, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:oropre:v:59:y:2011:i:5:p:1304-1308
    DOI: 10.1287/opre.1110.0990
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Noah Gans & Ger Koole & Avishai Mandelbaum, 2003. "Telephone Call Centers: Tutorial, Review, and Research Prospects," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 5(2), pages 79-141, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hayriye Ayhan, 2022. "Server assignment policies in queues with customer abandonments," Queueing Systems: Theory and Applications, Springer, vol. 100(3), pages 393-395, April.

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    Keywords

    call centers; monotonicity;

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