Dear INFORMS Members,
We are excited to announce the inaugural 2023 INFORMS Blue Summit Supplies Data Challenge in partnership with Blue Summit Supplies (BSS), an eCommerce company specializing in office products. This is an exceptional opportunity to apply your data analytics and machine learning skills to a real-world problem and compete for innovative solutions in the dynamic world of eCommerce pricing. We invite INFORMS community members to participate and develop your innovative solutions!
Challenge Overview:
In the fast-paced world of eCommerce, strategic pricing is crucial for driving profitability and gaining a competitive edge. To this end, we have teamed up with BSS eCommerce to address their significant challenge of determining optimal pricing for their vast array of products in a market where prices can change daily or even hourly. The current manual pricing process is not only time-consuming but also lacks the robustness that data-driven approaches can offer.
Data Challenge Task:
As a participant, your objective is to predict or decide the optimal daily market prices for eCommerce products sold by BSS, with the goal of maximizing their profit. By analyzing a rich dataset provided over two and a half years, which includes various sales and market variables, your task is to develop pricing analytics and optimization models that can effectively determine the optimal selling price for each product and predict the expected daily profit.
Key Dates:
Training Phase: Aug 1st - September 6th, 2023
Online Testing Phase: September 6th - September 24th, 2023
Report Submission Deadline: September 24th, 2023
How to Participate:
1. Download Data: Access the provided dataset from the attached CSV file and a detailed introduction from the attached PDF file. This dataset contains sales and market variables for more than 200 office products over two and a half years.
2. Develop Solutions: Leverage the rich data to develop your pricing analytics and optimization models during the Training Phase.
3. Submit Your Solution: Prepare a technical report detailing your approach and results, and submit it before the Report Submission Deadline.
4. Live Testing Phase: In the Online Testing Phase, you will be provided with updated market data to apply your models and predict optimal prices and profits for assigned products.
Real-world Impact:
Your work will directly influence BSS's pricing strategies in the testing phase, leading to enhanced profitability and competitive advantage in the dynamic eCommerce market. Innovative Solutions: Showcase your data-driven approaches and innovative pricing strategies to address complex pricing challenges.
Prizes and Recognition:
Finalist teams will be invited to present their solutions at the 17th INFORMS Workshop on Data Mining & Decision Analytics (DMDA) and stand a chance to win prizes a total prize fund of $2,500. The top two winning teams will receive cash prizes, with the First Prize winner awarded $1,500 and the Second Prize winner receiving $1,000. Additionally, all finalists will be recognized with a finalist award plaque from the INFORMS Data Mining Society.
Contact and Questions:
For any questions or clarifications, feel free to reach out to the Competition Chairs:
Dr. Hieu Pham, Assistant Professor at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (Email: hieu.pham@uah.edu)
Dr. Shouyi Wang, Associate Professor at The University of Texas at Arlington (Email: shouyiw@uta.edu)
Take this opportunity to put your data mining and analytics skills to the test and make a real impact on real-world eCommerce decision-making strategies. Attached you will find the detailed Data Challenge Introduction in a PDF file and a CSV file containing the dataset. Please make sure to review the guidelines and evaluation criteria provided in the document.
We look forward to your active participation and innovative solutions!
Best regards,
Hieu Pham and Shouyi Wang
On Behalf of INFORMS Data Mining Society
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Shouyi Wang, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering
The University of Texas at Arlington
Email:
shouyiw@uta.eduhttps://www.uta.edu/academics/faculty/profile?username=shouyiw------------------------------