A Hybrid Knowledge-Based System for Allocating Retail Space and for Other Allocation Problems

A unique hybrid knowledge-based decision support system (Resource-opt) for helping managers make various kinds of resource allocation decisions allows the user to feed in hard information about the past, market research information, and managerial intuition. The Resource-opt System organizes all this knowledge and then computes the resource allocation decisions that will maximize profits within any given set of strategic considerations. It provides a forecast of sales, costs, and profits. A practical example of the use of the system for allocating retail space is given; it has also been used for sales force allocation and mail order catalogue design.