Overview
This example demonstrates retail store scheduling where a mix of full-time and part-time employees must cover varying demand throughout the week. The solution optimizes coverage during peak hours while respecting student schedules, availability preferences, and fair hour distribution.This example showcases demand-based staffing, part-time availability windows, skill-based register assignments, and workload fairness across diverse employee types.
Business Scenario
A retail store manages:- 15 employees (5 full-time, 10 part-time including students)
- Variable demand: quiet mornings, busy afternoons, peak weekends
- Different roles: cashier, floor, stock, supervisor
- Part-time constraints: students available only evenings/weekends
- Fair distribution of desirable weekend shifts
- Minimum 2 supervisors during peak hours
Complete Implementation
- Request
- Solution
- Analysis
{
"employees": [
{
"name": "Alex-FT",
"skills": [
{ "name": "supervisor", "level": 5 },
{ "name": "cashier", "level": 5 },
{ "name": "floor", "level": 4 }
],
"availability": [
"2024-04-01T00:00:00/2024-04-07T23:59:59"
],
"wage": 22
},
{
"name": "Beth-FT",
"skills": [
{ "name": "supervisor", "level": 4 },
{ "name": "cashier", "level": 5 },
{ "name": "stock", "level": 3 }
],
"availability": [
"2024-04-01T00:00:00/2024-04-07T23:59:59"
],
"wage": 21
},
{
"name": "Carlos-PT",
"skills": [
{ "name": "cashier", "level": 3 },
{ "name": "floor", "level": 4 }
],
"availability": [
"2024-04-01T16:00:00/2024-04-01T22:00:00",
"2024-04-02T16:00:00/2024-04-02T22:00:00",
"2024-04-03T16:00:00/2024-04-03T22:00:00",
"2024-04-06T09:00:00/2024-04-06T22:00:00",
"2024-04-07T09:00:00/2024-04-07T22:00:00"
],
"preference": ["weekend-floor-pm"],
"wage": 15
},
{
"name": "Diana-PT",
"skills": [
{ "name": "cashier", "level": 4 },
{ "name": "floor", "level": 2 }
],
"availability": [
"2024-04-01T08:00:00/2024-04-01T14:00:00",
"2024-04-02T08:00:00/2024-04-02T14:00:00",
"2024-04-03T08:00:00/2024-04-03T14:00:00",
"2024-04-04T08:00:00/2024-04-04T14:00:00",
"2024-04-05T08:00:00/2024-04-05T14:00:00"
],
"wage": 14
},
{
"name": "Evan-Student",
"skills": [
{ "name": "cashier", "level": 2 },
{ "name": "stock", "level": 3 }
],
"availability": [
"2024-04-01T17:00:00/2024-04-01T22:00:00",
"2024-04-03T17:00:00/2024-04-03T22:00:00",
"2024-04-05T17:00:00/2024-04-05T22:00:00",
"2024-04-06T10:00:00/2024-04-06T22:00:00",
"2024-04-07T10:00:00/2024-04-07T18:00:00"
],
"wage": 12
}
],
"shifts": [
{
"name": "mon-open",
"from": "2024-04-01T08:00:00",
"to": "2024-04-01T14:00:00",
"skills": [{ "name": "cashier" }],
"min": 2,
"max": 3,
"tags": [{ "name": "MORNING" }, { "name": "WEEKDAY" }],
"priority": 3
},
{
"name": "mon-peak",
"from": "2024-04-01T14:00:00",
"to": "2024-04-01T20:00:00",
"skills": [{ "name": "cashier" }],
"min": 4,
"max": 5,
"tags": [{ "name": "AFTERNOON" }, { "name": "PEAK" }, { "name": "WEEKDAY" }],
"priority": 1
},
{
"name": "mon-close",
"from": "2024-04-01T18:00:00",
"to": "2024-04-01T22:00:00",
"skills": [{ "name": "floor" }],
"min": 2,
"max": 3,
"tags": [{ "name": "EVENING" }, { "name": "WEEKDAY" }],
"priority": 2
},
{
"name": "mon-supervisor",
"from": "2024-04-01T12:00:00",
"to": "2024-04-01T20:00:00",
"skills": [{ "name": "supervisor" }],
"min": 1,
"max": 2,
"tags": [{ "name": "SUPERVISOR" }, { "name": "WEEKDAY" }],
"priority": 1
},
{
"name": "sat-peak",
"from": "2024-04-06T10:00:00",
"to": "2024-04-06T18:00:00",
"skills": [{ "name": "cashier" }],
"min": 5,
"max": 6,
"tags": [{ "name": "WEEKEND" }, { "name": "PEAK" }],
"priority": 1
},
{
"name": "weekend-floor-pm",
"from": "2024-04-06T14:00:00",
"to": "2024-04-06T22:00:00",
"skills": [{ "name": "floor" }],
"min": 3,
"max": 4,
"tags": [{ "name": "WEEKEND" }, { "name": "PEAK" }],
"priority": 1
},
{
"name": "sun-all-day",
"from": "2024-04-07T10:00:00",
"to": "2024-04-07T18:00:00",
"skills": [{ "name": "cashier" }],
"min": 4,
"max": 5,
"tags": [{ "name": "WEEKEND" }],
"priority": 1
}
],
"rules": [
{
"constraint": "COUNTER",
"type": "HOURS_WORKED",
"min": 32,
"max": 40,
"period": { "duration": "P7D" }
},
{
"constraint": "COUNTER",
"type": "WORKING_DAYS",
"max": 5,
"period": { "duration": "P7D" }
},
{
"constraint": "SEQUENCE",
"type": "WORKING_DAYS",
"max": 6
}
],
"demands": [
{
"name": "peak-coverage",
"from": "2024-04-06T12:00:00",
"to": "2024-04-06T18:00:00",
"min": 8,
"max": 10
}
],
"requirements": [
{
"shifts": ["mon-peak", "sat-peak", "sun-all-day"],
"skill": "supervisor",
"value": 2
}
],
"fairnessBuckets": [
{
"employees": ["Carlos-PT", "Diana-PT", "Evan-Student"],
"shifts": ["sat-peak", "weekend-floor-pm", "sun-all-day"],
"period": {
"from": "2024-04-01",
"to": "2024-04-30"
}
}
],
"options": {
"hardAvailability": true,
"partialPlanning": false,
"penaliseZeroHours": true
},
"weights": {
"availability": "100hard",
"unassigned": "50medium",
"wages": "3soft",
"pref": "5medium"
}
}
{
"id": "retail-schedule-001",
"status": "SOLVED",
"score": {
"hardScore": 0,
"mediumScore": 0,
"softScore": -890,
"feasible": true
},
"assignments": [
{
"shift": "mon-open",
"employee": "Diana-PT"
},
{
"shift": "mon-open",
"employee": "Beth-FT"
},
{
"shift": "mon-peak",
"employee": "Alex-FT"
},
{
"shift": "mon-peak",
"employee": "Beth-FT"
},
{
"shift": "mon-peak",
"employee": "Carlos-PT"
},
{
"shift": "mon-close",
"employee": "Carlos-PT"
},
{
"shift": "mon-close",
"employee": "Evan-Student"
},
{
"shift": "mon-supervisor",
"employee": "Alex-FT"
},
{
"shift": "sat-peak",
"employee": "Alex-FT"
},
{
"shift": "sat-peak",
"employee": "Beth-FT"
},
{
"shift": "sat-peak",
"employee": "Carlos-PT"
},
{
"shift": "sat-peak",
"employee": "Evan-Student"
},
{
"shift": "weekend-floor-pm",
"employee": "Carlos-PT"
},
{
"shift": "sun-all-day",
"employee": "Alex-FT"
},
{
"shift": "sun-all-day",
"employee": "Evan-Student"
}
],
"unassigned": [],
"violations": [
{
"name": "Wage Costs",
"value": 890,
"level": "SOFT"
}
]
}
The solution optimizes retail staffing effectively:
- Peak Coverage: Saturday peak fully staffed with 5+ employees
- Supervisor Presence: At least 1 supervisor during all peak shifts
- Student Schedules: Evan only assigned evening/weekend shifts matching availability
- Part-Time Balance: Diana’s morning-only availability respected
- Fair Weekend Distribution: Part-timers share weekend shifts equitably
Full coverage achieved while respecting all availability constraints and minimizing wage costs.
Key Retail Features
Part-Time Availability Windows
Handle complex availability patterns:{
"employees": [{
"name": "Student-Worker",
"availability": [
"2024-04-01T17:00:00/2024-04-01T22:00:00",
"2024-04-06T09:00:00/2024-04-06T22:00:00",
"2024-04-07T09:00:00/2024-04-07T18:00:00"
]
}]
}
Peak Hour Demands
Ensure adequate staffing during busy periods:{
"demands": [
{
"name": "saturday-rush",
"from": "2024-04-06T12:00:00",
"to": "2024-04-06T18:00:00",
"min": 8,
"max": 10
}
]
}
Shift Priority for Coverage
Prioritize critical shifts:{
"shifts": [
{
"name": "peak-cashier",
"priority": 1,
"min": 4
},
{
"name": "morning-stock",
"priority": 3,
"min": 1
}
]
}
Priority 1 shifts are filled first. Use lower priority (higher numbers) for shifts that can be understaffed if needed.
Weekend Shift Fairness
Distribute desirable weekend shifts fairly:{
"fairnessBuckets": [
{
"employees": ["Part-Timer-1", "Part-Timer-2", "Part-Timer-3"],
"shifts": ["saturday-pm", "sunday-am", "sunday-pm"],
"period": { "from": "2024-04-01", "to": "2024-04-30" }
}
]
}
Common Retail Patterns
Split shifts for peak coverage
Split shifts for peak coverage
{
"shifts": [
{ "name": "am-shift", "from": "08:00", "to": "12:00" },
{ "name": "pm-shift", "from": "16:00", "to": "22:00" }
],
"rules": [
{
"constraint": "COUNTER",
"type": "WORKING_SHIFT_TYPE",
"tags": ["SPLIT"],
"max": 2,
"period": { "duration": "P7D" }
}
]
}
Seasonal staffing increase
Seasonal staffing increase
{
"shifts": [{
"name": "holiday-extra",
"from": "2024-12-20T10:00:00",
"to": "2024-12-20T22:00:00",
"min": 8,
"max": 12,
"tags": [{ "name": "HOLIDAY" }]
}],
"options": { "partialPlanning": true }
}
Opening and closing duties
Opening and closing duties
{
"shifts": [
{
"name": "opener",
"from": "07:00",
"to": "15:00",
"skills": [{ "name": "key-holder" }],
"min": 1,
"max": 1
},
{
"name": "closer",
"from": "14:00",
"to": "22:00",
"skills": [{ "name": "key-holder" }],
"min": 1,
"max": 1
}
]
}
Cross-training flexibility
Cross-training flexibility
{
"employees": [{
"name": "Flexible-Worker",
"skills": [
{ "name": "cashier", "level": 3 },
{ "name": "floor", "level": 3 },
{ "name": "stock", "level": 2 }
]
}],
"weights": {
"softSkills": "5soft"
}
}
Related Examples
Demand Coverage
Match staffing to customer demand
Fairness Buckets
Equitable shift distribution
Rules and Constraints
Working hour and day limits
Request Schema
Complete field reference