Combinatorial Auction Design for Networked Returns: Mitigating Demand Uncertainty and Externalities in Online Retail Marketplaces

Explore a GERAD seminar presentation on innovative combinatorial auction design for networked returns in online retail marketplaces. Delve into strategies for mitigating demand uncertainty and environmental externalities through an auction-based system where suppliers bid on customer-issued returns. Examine how this approach can significantly reduce shipping distances, increase resell value, and address the growing challenges of retail return shipments. Learn about the unique dataset of retail marketplace transactions used to analyze the potential benefits of exploiting global customer demand knowledge and supplier network interconnections. Discover how this auction mechanism can help establish connections between suppliers, potentially increasing their welfare while reducing environmental impact in the e-commerce ecosystem.