The Implementation of Queuing Theory Methods in Business Processes Optimization

This paper provides an analysis of the most successful world practices that allow to reduce the queue sizes in companies, which provides different services to the consumers. As the most common in everyday life a supermarket model was chosen for in-depth analysis. The main input data for modelling the queuing system supermarket such as average expenses per person, intensity of the flow of clients, the income from 1 sq.m, average service time. Further in the work the formalization of the queuing system used in supermarkets is realized for further application of methods of mathematical and simulation modeling, with the purpose of calculating the percent of customers who refused to visit the store due to the large queue sizes to the cashbox. Criteria for determining the critical queue size for a potential buyer were identified through a social survey. Based on the results of the analysis of the responses of 251 respondents, it was revealed that the queue of 5 people is a stop-factor for further shopping. After carrying out mathematical and simulation modeling in the Anylogic system, it was estimated, that the optimal number of open cash registers for the average supermarket in the evening peak hours is 5. Based on the calculation of the share of lost customers, recommendations are made, and they can be used by the business to calculate the payback period of additional cash registers needed to reduce sizes of queues. So, for an average supermarket, it is profitably to allocate a part of the sales area for entering the fourth and fifth cash desks. The income received from additional customers will significantly exceed the cost of maintaining and servicing cash desks.