Retail Staffing

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"
    }
  ]
}

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

{
  "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

{
  "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

{
  "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

{
  "employees": [{
    "name": "Flexible-Worker",
    "skills": [
      { "name": "cashier", "level": 3 },
      { "name": "floor", "level": 3 },
      { "name": "stock", "level": 2 }
    ]
  }],
  "weights": {
    "softSkills": "5soft"
  }
}

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

Platform

VRP API

Fill API

Overview

Business Scenario

Complete Implementation

Key Retail Features

Part-Time Availability Windows

Peak Hour Demands

Shift Priority for Coverage

Weekend Shift Fairness

Common Retail Patterns

Demand Coverage

Fairness Buckets

Rules and Constraints

Request Schema

Platform

VRP API

Fill API

​Overview

​Business Scenario

​Complete Implementation

​Key Retail Features

​Part-Time Availability Windows

​Peak Hour Demands

​Shift Priority for Coverage

​Weekend Shift Fairness

​Common Retail Patterns

​Related Examples

Demand Coverage

Fairness Buckets

Rules and Constraints

Request Schema

Overview

Business Scenario

Complete Implementation

Key Retail Features

Part-Time Availability Windows

Peak Hour Demands

Shift Priority for Coverage

Weekend Shift Fairness

Common Retail Patterns

Related Examples