Duration
30h Th
Number of credits
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
English language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
Pricing and revenue optimization focuses on how a firm should set and update pricing and product availability decisions in order to maximize its profitability. This course introduces the theory, concepts, and applications of pricing and revenue optimization. The topics include a review of price-demand functions, price differentiation, pricing under constrained supply, revenue management, capacity allocation, and network revenue management.
The main methodologies of pricing and revenue optimization will be reviewed using a combination of lectures, cases, and games. Applications of pricing and revenue optimization in different industries (including transportation, hospitality, entertainment, retail, and online advertising) and business contexts will be explored. The emphasis of pricing and revenue optimization in general, and this course in particular, is on tactical optimization of pricing and product availability (capacity allocation) decisions. Quantitative models will be used to characterize the market response to pricing and product availability decisions and these decisions will be optimized employing constrained optimization techniques.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
The learning objectives of the course are:
- To identify fundamental drivers of customer choice and a product's demand.
- To identify important models for price-demand relationship.
- To use statistical tools to estimate the effect of price and segmentation decisions on demand.
- To use optimization models to determine profit maximizing prices under a variety of settings.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Basic concepts of statistics, linear programming, and non-linear optimization (at an elementary level).
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
The course will be conducted with a series of lectures, games, and case studies.
Case studies are quantitative in nature and will require various methods including statistical methods, linear programming, and non-linear optimization (at an elementary level).
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Remote course
Further information:
Distance learning course
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Platform(s) used for course materials:
- LOL@
Further information:
Suggested Textbook:
Phillips, Robert. Pricing and Revenue Optimization. Stanford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-8047-4698-2.
Supplementary Texts:
Talluri, Kalyan T., van Ryzin, Garrett J. The Theory and Practice of Revenue Management. Kluwer Academic, 2004, ISBN 1-402-07701-7.
Nagle, Thomas T., Hogan, John. The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing: A Guide to Growing More Profitably, Prentice Hall, 2005, ISBN 0-13-185677-4.
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam ( open-ended questions )
Written work / report
Further information:
Students will be evaluated based on their case study performance (~50%) and a final exam (~50%).
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
The course consists of 30 class hours and will be held in 10 online synchronous sessions of 3 hours programmed during the first semester.
The course is given in English.
Students are wanted to participate in all the sessions (10 × 3 hours).
Contacts
Mustafa C. PINAR (mustafap@bilkent.edu.tr)
Yasemin ARDA (yasemin.arda@uliege.be)