Hewlett Packard: Delivering Profitable Growth for HPDirect.com Using Operations Research

Abstract

Hewlett Packard (HP) entered the online consumer sales business with its launch of HPDirect.com, a portal that allows consumers to purchase HP products (e.g., desktop and notebook computers, printers, accessories, supplies) online. This paper describes operations research solutions to a variety of problems in the e-commerce value chain. HP’s objective was to use these solutions to grow its share in the online sales market. First, we identify and quantify the impact of key drivers of online traffic to enhance our market planning and budget allocation process. Next, we apply Bayesian modeling and Markov chain methods to predict which customers are most likely to buy which product, and when and through which marketing channel they are likely to make a purchase. Finally, we use a hybrid forecasting approach combining time-series and regression modeling to predict customer orders for optimizing warehouse inventory holding and ensuring timely fulfillment of customer orders. Since 2009, the integration of these solutions into HP’s marketing planning and warehouse operations processes has helped to generate an additional $117 million in revenue for HPDirect.com.