How Birchbox Transformed its Operations With Mathematical Optimization

Gurobi, Webinar – How Birchbox Transformed its Operations With Mathematical Optimization,

July 28th - 29th, 2020

Birchbox – the trailblazing subscription box service that launched in 2010 – had created a mixed-integer programming formulation to determine the products that would be sent to its subscribers in individual boxes on a monthly basis. The goal is to produce a set of different box configurations that are then assigned to customers – so that Birchbox can meet the diverse needs of its varied customer base. 

As the business grew, the mixed-integer program was taking days to solve, and it was impossible to experiment with different business requirements to determine the best set of configurations. The RIP (Reciprocating Integer Programming) technique was created to reduce solution times to typically under 20 minutes using Gurobi, which has dramatically changed the way that Birchbox can run its subscription business.