Article

Evaluating arrival rate uncertainty in call centers

Authors:

Thomas R. Robbins,

D. J. Medeiros,

Paul DumAuthors Info & Claims

WSC '06: Proceedings of the 38th conference on Winter simulation

Pages 2180 - 2187

Published: 03 December 2006 Publication History

Abstract

Inbound call center operations are challenging to manage, in large part because there is considerable uncertainty in estimates of arrival rates, which vary over time. We have developed a general purpose simulation model for inbound call center operations which supports time varying and uncertain arrival rates along with variable staffing. We outline the conceptual and technical design of the simulation model. We then define and conduct an initial experiment that uses the model to evaluate the impact of arrival rate uncertainty on call center performance. We find that arrival rate uncertainty creates significant planning challenges for managers attempting to satisfy tight performance targets, particularly one-sided performance measures. We also find that abandonment rate has a major impact on call center performance.

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Cited By

Antonić AMarjanović MŽarko I(2017)Modeling Aggregate Input Load of Interoperable Smart City ServicesProceedings of the 11th ACM International Conference on Distributed and Event-based Systems10.1145/3093742.3093928(34-43)Online publication date: 8-Jun-2017
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3093742.3093928
Ashamalla ABeydoun GLow G(2017)Model driven approach for real-time requirement analysis of multi-agent systemsComputer Languages, Systems and Structures10.1016/j.cl.2017.05.00650:C(127-139)Online publication date: 1-Dec-2017
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.cl.2017.05.006
Robbins THuschka TChick S(2016)Evaluating the fit of the Erlang A model in high traffic call centersProceedings of the 2016 Winter Simulation Conference10.5555/3042094.3042320(1790-1801)Online publication date: 11-Dec-2016
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/3042094.3042320
Show More Cited By

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Information & Contributors

Information

Published In

cover image ACM Conferences

WSC '06: Proceedings of the 38th conference on Winter simulation

December 2006

2429 pages

ISBN:1424405017

Editors:
L. Felipe Perrone
Bucknell University
,
Barry G. Lawson
University of Richmond
,
Jason Liu
Colorado School of Mines
,
Frederick P. Wieland
Sensis Corporation
,
General Chair:
David Nicol
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
,
Program Chair:
Richard Fujimoto
College of Computing, Georgia Tech

Sponsors

IIE: Institute of Industrial Engineers
ASA: American Statistical Association
IEICE ESS: Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, Engineering Sciences Society
IEEE-CS\DATC: The IEEE Computer Society
SIGSIM: ACM Special Interest Group on Simulation and Modeling
NIST: National Institute of Standards and Technology
(SCS): The Society for Modeling and Simulation International
INFORMS-CS: Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences-College on Simulation

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Winter Simulation Conference

Publication History

Published: 03 December 2006

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WSC06

Sponsor:

IIE
ASA
IEICE ESS
IEEE-CS\DATC
SIGSIM
NIST
(SCS)
INFORMS-CS

WSC06: Winter Simulation Conference 2006

December 3 - 6, 2006

California, Monterey

Acceptance Rates

WSC '06 Paper Acceptance Rate 177 of 252 submissions, 70%;

Overall Acceptance Rate 3,413 of 5,075 submissions, 67%

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Cited By

Antonić AMarjanović MŽarko I(2017)Modeling Aggregate Input Load of Interoperable Smart City ServicesProceedings of the 11th ACM International Conference on Distributed and Event-based Systems10.1145/3093742.3093928(34-43)Online publication date: 8-Jun-2017
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3093742.3093928
Ashamalla ABeydoun GLow G(2017)Model driven approach for real-time requirement analysis of multi-agent systemsComputer Languages, Systems and Structures10.1016/j.cl.2017.05.00650:C(127-139)Online publication date: 1-Dec-2017
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.cl.2017.05.006
Robbins THuschka TChick S(2016)Evaluating the fit of the Erlang A model in high traffic call centersProceedings of the 2016 Winter Simulation Conference10.5555/3042094.3042320(1790-1801)Online publication date: 11-Dec-2016
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/3042094.3042320
Robbins TMedeiros DHarrison TYücesan E(2010)Does the Erlang C model fit in real call centers?Proceedings of the Winter Simulation Conference10.5555/2433508.2433862(2853-2864)Online publication date: 5-Dec-2010
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/2433508.2433862
Steckley SHenderson SMehrotra V(2009)Forecast errors in service systemsProbability in the Engineering and Informational Sciences10.1017/S026996480900018723:2(305-332)Online publication date: 1-Apr-2009
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1017/S0269964809000187
de Freitas Filho Pda Cruz GSeara RSteinmann GTew J(2007)Using simulation to predict market behavior for outbound call centersProceedings of the 39th conference on Winter simulation: 40 years! The best is yet to come10.5555/1351542.1351940(2247-2251)Online publication date: 9-Dec-2007
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/1351542.1351940

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