In this paper, we study the bargaining strategy of a manufacturer who sells a product through the online and offline distribution channels. To do this, we derive and analyze the equilibrium solutions for both simultaneous and sequential bargaining games. The result shows that the optimal bargaining strategy heavily depends on the size of the online distribution channel’s loyal customers and the difference between the retail prices of the online and the offline distribution channels. It is also shown that, in some cases, the online distribution channel has incentive to downsize its loyal customers and its retail price for a better bargaining outcome.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to partition a last-mile delivery network into zones and to determine locations of last mile delivery centers (LMDCs) in Bangkok, Thailand. Research design, data, and methodology – As online shopping has become popular, parcel companies need to improve their delivery services as fast as possible. A network partition has been applied to evaluate suitable service areas by using METIS algorithm to solve this scenario and a facility location problem is used to address LMDC in a partitioned area. Research design, data, and methodology – Clustering and mixed integer programming algorithms are applied to partition the network and to locate facilities in the network. Results – Network partition improves last mile delivery service. METIS algorithm divided the area into 25 partitions by minimizing the inter-network links. To serve short-haul deliveries, this paper located 96 LMDCs in compact partitioning to satisfy customer demands. Conclusions –The computational results from the case study showed that the proposed two-phase algorithm with network partitioning and facility location can efficiently design a last-mile delivery network. It improves parcel delivery services when sending parcels to customers and reduces the overall delivery time. It is expected that the proposed two-phase approach can help parcel delivery companies minimize investment while providing faster delivery services.

온라인 게임의 서비스에 있어서 가장 중요한 것이 안정적인 서비스를 제공하는 것이다. 그러나 온라인 게임에서는 동시에 수천 명의 유저들이 서버에 접속하게 되므로 유저의 수가 증가함에 따라 게임 서버에 과다한 부하가 발생하게 된다. 게임 서버의 부하를 줄이기 위한 다양한 기법들이 연구되고 있다. 온라인 게임의 MMOG (Massively Multiplay Online Game)의 경우는 게임서버의 성능을 향상시키기 위한 연구는 게임 서버 내의 알고리즘 개선 등과 같이 서버 부분에 한정되어 연구되어 지고 있다. 본 논문에서는 MMOG 서버의 가장 큰 부하를 유발하는 동기화 메시지 처리 부분을 서버와 클라이언트 양쪽에서 분산하여 처리하는 방안을 설계하고 이를 시뮬레이션으로 검증하였다.