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Pooling is not the answer

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  • van Dijk, Nico
  • van der Sluis, Erik

Abstract

This note studies practical and theoretical scenarios to improve a completely pooled or unpooled scenario for two server groups (e.g. call center groups) with short and long jobs (e.g. calls). First, simple overflow (reported earlier) scenarios and priority rules are compared. Next, threshold rules are investigated for further practical improvement. Finally, a threshold rule is sought for a strict improvement over pooling for both short and long jobs. The practical value is illustrated numerically and appears to be consistent also for larger server numbers. The results show: (i) An overall average improvement by prioritizing short jobs. (ii) A slight but strict improvement over pooling by prioritizing long jobs.The first result is of practical interest; the second one is more theoretical. A practical scheme is provided for an ordering of scenarios, up to realistically large numbers of servers as in call centers.

Suggested Citation

  • van Dijk, Nico & van der Sluis, Erik, 2009. "Pooling is not the answer," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 197(1), pages 415-421, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ejores:v:197:y:2009:i:1:p:415-421
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. 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:

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    4. Nur Sunar & Yichen Tu & Serhan Ziya, 2021. "Pooled vs. Dedicated Queues when Customers Are Delay-Sensitive," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(6), pages 3785-3802, June.
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