Optimising Business Process by Multi-method Modelling: A Case Study of Customer Support Centre for Fashion Omnichannel e-Retailing

Optimising business processes (BP) is the essential task of any business organisation. However, it is not easy for managers to adjust limited organisational resources to achieve a specific business goal with the desired level of efficiency and effectiveness. Multi-method modelling, combined between discrete event and agent-based modelling, is used to illustrate how it helps simulate real situations emphasising limitations in resources to optimise business processes for the fashion e-retailing to satisfy their customers through omnichannel. Customer support centre (CSC) plays a crucial role in serving e-consumers by high volumes of service and support requests, common questions related to products, fulfilment, and returns with fast response to different communication channels (e.g., phone, email, live-chat, social media) (Ilk et al in Decis Support Syst 105:13–23, 2018, [1]). Allocating and assigning service workforces across channels with different skill requirements (e.g., talking over the phone, text-based messaging, social media monitoring) is a complex task to optimise human resources. In this study, multi-method modelling is applied to design and optimise a customer support centre for a fashion omnichannel e-retailing to deal with customer requests. Several scenarios are established to adjust the number of workers as organisational resources and analyse the efficiency and effectiveness based on lost calls and utilisation in fulfilling customers’ requests. Multiple scenarios are analysed for normal conditions and promotional events using the software AnyLogic. The results of these scenarios are discussed, compared, and contrasted to identify the model’s outcomes in each scenario and to suggest many practical recommendations for managers in designing and optimising business processes. BP can contribute to overall business performance by satisfying and attracting customers while maintaining efficient and effective organisational resources. Also, the role of CSC in fashion omnichannel e-retailing is highlighted in fulfilling customer requests. Finally, through the study, multi-method modelling shows its strengths and limitations in facilitating managers in designing business processes and optimising the company resources to maximise efficiency and effectiveness in the dynamic fashion business environment.