Improving Location Decisions For Charity Retailers: Applying Operations Research and Customer Discovery

Abstract

This study provides a novel methodology at the nexus of Customer Discovery and business analytics for critical location decisions charity retailers with circular supply chains face. It integrates spatial network analysis with Customer Discovery and multicriteria decision-making. Traditional analyses are primarily based on customer location but for donated goods applying Customer Discovery and expert judgment and systematic analysis of data prevails. This integration provides an agile approach to producing optimal alternative locations, which can be applied to Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and Goodwill Industries, and similar organizations globally. This cross-disciplinary approach is practical and cost-effective and can increase efficiency, decrease risks, and strengthen organizational buy-in. It categorizes the drivers affecting location decisions and combines the current business model search techniques and an overall analytical framework to create the Expert Knowledge and Evidence-Based Location Methodology (EKELM).