Extending Free Shipping to Outside Sellers Can Strengthen Online Marketplaces
Extending membership-based free shipping programs to third-party sellers can strengthen online marketplaces rather than cannibalize them.
The INFORMS Analytics+ Conference showcased how companies are turning advanced analytics and AI into measurable operational results
In most emergency departments, beds are a hot commodity. But some patients don’t actually need a bed for their treatment – and accurately identifying those people is a low-lift but effective way to increase efficiency without sacrificing care quality, finds a study recently published in the journal Management Science.
The researchers developed a simple decision tree, informed by mathematical and machine learning models, to help staff decide whether a patient truly needs a bed or can be routed to a “vertical processing pathway” – that is, an area where they can be treated sitting up. Many hospitals already have such an area but don’t necessarily have a systematic way to decide which patients are treated there.
Diversity alone won’t get the votes for funding public education. It takes communities that are more integrated and connected, where residents have a sense of shared stake.
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Extending membership-based free shipping programs to third-party sellers can strengthen online marketplaces rather than cannibalize them.
The finalists for the 2026 Franz Edelman Award innovate in supply-chain replenishment, food distribution, cloud fulfillment and carbon-aware high-performance computing.
“We are going to see [an] impact on AI innovation, for sure,” said Subodha Kumar, a professor at Temple University’s Fox School of Business. “How much it will happen — the intensity and magnitude — we cannot say right now.”
For states, data center incentive programs are almost always tax losers, said Subodha Kumar, founder of the Center for Business Analytics and Disruptive Technologies at Temple University. But because most states have similar programs, it’s something industry leaders say is needed to remain competitive.
“ More hospitals are closing every year than are opening because they cannot stay financially viable,” Carri Chan of Columbia Business School said. “A lot of the things that both sides are struggling with are going to keep arising.”

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