Europcar Integrates Forecasting, Simulation, and Optimization Techniques in a Capacity and Revenue Management System

Europcar, the leading European car rental company, partnered with ACT Operations Research to develop Opticar, an innovative decision support system. The system uses forecasting, discrete-event simulation, and optimization (solved with meta-heuristic algorithms) to provide an integrated approach to revenue and capacity management. Opticar anticipates future demand for Europcar’s vehicle fleet up to six months in advance, thus improving fleet capacity management (vehicle acquisitions, decommissions, and transfers). In addition, it enables Europcar to optimize its approach to revenue management and rental pricing, taking into account its currently available fleet, competitor information, and the expected demand for vehicles. Opticar provides a mathematical approach, which managers in nine countries share and use as a starting point for all daily operations.