The objective of this Major Qualifying Project was to provide operational recommendations to a student startup called Pallyt that allows for efficient order fulfillment of homeowner construction supplies. The state of the art indicates that same-day delivery platforms have grown in popularity but a gap exists in the homeowner construction market. The rationale for this project is to analyze Pallyt’s ability to provide this market with an e-commerce platform that connects building supply and hardware stores to consumers and small businesses for rapid material delivery. The methods used by the operations team included axiomatic design, process simulation with Arena®, a trial test, and break-even analysis. The results provide Pallyt operational recommendations aimed at increasing operational efficiency and maximizing profit. The conclusion shows a hierarchical decomposition of the business model, options for delivery methods, evaluation of the pilot test results, and economic recommendations that will support Pallyt’s future success.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• Reiter, Margaret
• Alasso, Joshua

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• 52026
• E-project-031822-131214

Keyword

• Process Mapping
• Axiomatic Design
• Arena
• Last-Mile Delivery
• Operations
• Economic Analysis

Advisor

• Gonsalves, Edward Martins
• Towner, Walter Thomas

Year

• 2022

Date created

• 2022-03-18

Resource type

• Major Qualifying Project

Major

• Management Engineering
• Industrial Engineering

Rights statement

• In Copyright