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http://dx.doi.org/10.7232/IEIF.2011.24.1.040

The Staffing Problem at the Call Center by Optimization and Simulation  

Kim, Seong-Moon (School of Business, Yonsei University)
Nah, Jeong-Eun (Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering, Yonsei University)
Kim, Su-Mi (School of Business, Yonsei University)
Publication Information
IE interfaces / v.24, no.1, 2011 , pp. 40-50 More about this Journal
Abstract
We develop a nonlinear integer programming model which minimizes the total cost with the optimal number of operators to hire and their optimal allocation to the tasks under the diverse constraints such as the weekly, daily, and hourly maximum allowable abandonment rates for the time-varying inbound call volume. We present a case study based on actual data at a call center, in order to prove the validity of applying the optimization method proposed. By the one-sample two-tailed t-test, we confirm that the expected abandonment rates resulting from the optimization method are identical with the ones from the discrete-event simulation within specified confidence intervals.
Keywords
call center; staffing; optimization; discrete-event simulation;
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