From the PBS Email
"n discussions with representatives from the FedEx MEC that had tested SmartPref, an area of great concern was the ability for a senior bidder to change his Preference(s) at the last minute. This change caused “domino” effects down through the seniority list and would not allow junior bidders the opportunity to adapt their bid. They had even considered running tiers of bidding to break up the bid process into groups of seniority to limit this “domino” effect. There is a problem with this tiered system. If the first 50 bidders bid then then next 50 bidders bid, it creates a false seniority at Bidder #51. This bidder would know exactly what they are going to get. Every 51st bidder would have this advantage that bidder #50 did not have.
Globalization ..
SmartPref uses a globalizing algorithm that may bypass a bidder’s Preferences to reach the company’s specified goal. The goal is to arrive at a set amount of open-time (with 0% being the optimal amount), a preset reserve percentage, and/or a specified average line value. The parameters set in the Admin Panel are paramount to the final award. A bidder in the globally constrained group will have his pairings awarded in a manner that will look at both the Preferences of the bidder along with the solvability of the overall solution. The globally constrained group could include over half the line holders for a month depending on staffing, holiday months, block hour fluctuations, etc. According to Crewing Solution’s Programmers, SmartPref will use globalization every month to complete the solution affecting an unspecified number of bidders every month.