Multivariate hedonic models for heterogeneous product prices in dynamic supply chains

Identifying parameters for state-space models in high dimensioned cases requires a complex methodology. We offer an example of application for hedonic prices and the hyper-parameter estimation for dynamic supply chains. An algorithm is created based on the Kalman filter-smoother and Expectation-Maximization procerures. Stopping rules for the algorithm are analyzed and compared. We detected the best stopping rule for our environment. In this way, the hedonic prices estimated can be used for any decision process. The thesis point to an application in forecast analysis for product prices. Accurate forecasting of market price developments is essential in achieving superior market performance. Especially in oligopolistic markets for durable consumer products a robust understanding of selling prices is important, as it drives pricing behavior as well as procurement, inventory and production decisions. Moreover, a supply chain perspective is indispensable for pricing forecasts since companies not only compete for product sales but also for limited resources. The thesis explores the use of dynamic multivariate hedonics-based pricing models that explicitly model selling prices with the market valuation of constituting parts. The model is applied to TAC SCM, a supply-chain trading agent competition. To find unknown component prices series we apply the Kalman filter technique to smooth and forecast implicit prices using the EM algorithm. Finally, we present results of our analysis to establish the viability of this method.