Node Description
Geographic Shredder
The Geographic Shredder node compares the Geographic Location of each Customer against the Location at which each Product is available. It will then shred those Products that are not available from the Customer’s Consideration Set by setting their WTP to zero.
The Location of each Customer can be pre-defined upstream by setting the ‘Location’ column of the Input WTP Matrix. If this ‘Location’ column is missing, the node will first generate this column by placing each Virtual Customer in a geographic ‘Location’ according to its ‘Population’ as defined in the ‘Input Customer Locations’ table. Customers can be located in different cities across the country, or in different districts within a city. Customers can also be Located at the different online Location they prefer to shop. Customers can be systematically located in blocks, or can be randomly scattered across all locations according to the relative populations at each.
A Simulate Market node assumes, by default, that all Customers have access to all Product offerings. But this usually does not reflect the reality of the Market. A real-world Customer may never travel to an inconvenient Location to buy a Product as the ‘Lost Value’ may be prohibitively high, or the Customer may not be aware of that Product’s existence.
Note that the Geographic Shredder node disregards the Customer’s first Top Choice. While the Demand Shredder node will always retain the Customer’s Top Choice, the Geographic Shredder considers only the Location of the Customers and Products. By shredding the Customer’s Top Choice, the results of an upstream Tuning Algorithm can be significantly impacted by a Geographic Shredder node. A downstream Simulate Market node will yield different results after the WTP Matrix has been shredded than before.
Hence, unlike the Demand Shredder node, the Geographic Shredder node is best located upstream of a Market Simulation Tuning node before the final WTP Matrix values have been calculated.
Alternatively, the Demand Shredder node can be used to shred Products by Location. This guarantees the Customer will be able to purchase their Top Choice, and allows the node to be located downstream to preserve the upstream Tuning of an Input WTP Matrix. This also allows the Customer to shop at several Locations. But this does not guarantee the Population of each Location.
The Geographic Feature node is another alternative. The Geographic Feature node calculates the ‘Lost Value’ of each Product due to shipping cost and delay from the perspective of each Virtual Customer. This gives each Customer a wider Consideration Set, but penalizes the value of Products sold at inconvenient Locations.
This Community Node documentation assumes you have already downloaded the open-source KNIME analytics platform and installed the free Market Simulation (Community Edition) plugin. If not, start by returning to Getting Started.
Downloads
Shred Demand
This workflow shreds the demand Customers have for Products that are not accessible to them from their Location. Customers Located “Uptown” can only purchase Products that are Located either “Uptown” or “Global”. As no Products are Located in the “Surburbs” these Customers can only purchase “Global” Products.
In the follow-up scenario, Cogswell Cogs opens a second Location in Midtown.
Inputs
Product Array
(Optional) The set of Products that define the Market. Each row corresponds to a Product that competes for Customers in the Market. The ‘Location’ column defines each Product’s default Location. If the Product is available everywhere to all Customers then this value can be set to ‘Global’.
WTP Matrix
The Willingness To Pay (WTP) Customer Distribution matrix for each Product column in the Market by each Virtual Customer row. The Input WTP Matrix may specify the Geographic Location where each Virtual Customer resides. If this Location column is missing then it will be automatically generated according to the ‘Input Customer Locations’ table.
Customer Locations
(Optional) The ratio of Customer ‘Population’ at each ‘Location’. This table will be ignored if the Input WTP Matrix contains a “Location” column.
Product Locations
The ‘Location’ of each point of sale for each ‘Product’ in the Market. If this table is missing then only the ‘Location’ field within the ‘Input Product Array’ will be considered. In this example, Cogswell Cogs opens a second Location in Midtown to complement their default Location Uptown.
Node
Outputs
Product Array
The Output Product Array is equivalent to the Input Product Array without any changes. The Product Array is simply passed through the node as a convenience.
WTP Matrix #1
The Output Willingness To Pay (WTP) Customer Distribution Matrix corresponds to the Input WTP Matrix. Certain WTP Values within the WTP Matrix will have been shredded where the Product was not available at the Customer’s Location. Shredded values are replaced with ‘0.0’.
WTP Matrix #2
In the follow-up scenario, Cogswell Cogs opens a second Location in Midtown. The Output WTP Matrix now reflects the WTP that Midtown Customers have for Cogswell Cogs.
