Random yield supply chain with a yield dependent secondary market

This paper considers a simple supply chain with one supplier and one retailer where the supplier’s production is subject to random yield and the retailer faces uncertain demand. There exists a secondary market for acquiring or disposing products by the supplier. We study both the centralized and decentralized systems. In the decentralized system, a no risk sharing contract and a risk sharing minimum commitment contract are analyzed. The supply chain with the risk sharing contract is further analyzed with a constant secondary market price and a yield dependent secondary market price. We present both the supplier’s and the retailer’s optimal strategies and provide insights for managers when making decisions under random yield risk and demand uncertainty. We find that the secondary market generally has a positive impact on supply chain performance and the actual effect of random yield risk on the supply chain performance depends on cost parameters and supply chain contract settings. Under certain conditions, reducing yield randomness may weaken the double marginalization effect and improve the chain performance. From the numerical study, we also show that there exists an optimal commitment level for the supply chain.     

Coordinating contracts for supply chains that market with mail-in rebates and retailer promotions

Marketing promotions are pervasive in industry, yet too often they are introduced without regard to their potential impact on the whole supply chain. This paper considers a cooperative business environment where a manufacturer and a retailer work interactively in determining their independent sales promotional actions. We use a newsvendor-modelling framework to study coordinating issues when the manufacturer provides mail-in rebates directly to consumers while the retailer exerts promotional effort to further spur consumer demand. We find that quantity discount contracts in conjunction with buy-back achieve supply chain coordination. Successful coordination can result in significant supply chain improvement, which leads the retailer to order more units and exert higher promotional effort level. With numerical examples, we provide additional insights on the conditions for the manufacturer to offer rebates.     

Supply chain optimization of petroleum organization under uncertainty in market demands and prices

A multi-period stochastic planning model has been developed and implemented for a supply chain network of a petroleum organization operating in an oil producing country under uncertain market conditions. The proposed supply chain network consists of all activities related to crude oil production, processing and distribution. Uncertainties were introduced in market demands and prices. A deterministic optimization model was first developed and tested. The impact of uncertainty on the supply chain was studied by performing a sensitivity analysis in which ±20% deviations were introduced in market demands and prices of different commodities. A stochastic formulation was then proposed, which is based on the two-stage problem with finite number of realizations. The proposed stochastic programming approach proved to be quite effective in developing resilient production plans in light of high degree of uncertainty in market conditions. The anticipated production plans have a considerably lower expected value of perfect information (EVPI). The main conclusion of this study is that for an oil producing country with oil processing capabilities, the impact of economic uncertainties may be tolerated by an appropriate balance between crude exports and processing capacities.     

Trade credit competition between two retailers in a supply chain under credit-linked retail price and market demand

The paper considers a supply chain system in which the sole manufacturer supplies the same product to two retailers who compete in offering trade credit period to customers. Both the market demand and retail prices vary with the trade credit periods offered by the retailers. The manufacturer also provides a trade credit period to both the retailers to settle down their accounts. The net profit function of the supply chain is derived considering possible relationships among the trade credit periods offered by the manufacturer and the retailers and the time when each retailer receives the last payment from his customer. An algorithm is developed to find the optimal solution of the proposed model. From the numerical study, it is observed that a two-level trade credit financing can increase profits not only for the manufacturer and the retailers but also for the whole supply chain.     

Approximation algorithms for supply chain planning and logistics problems with market choice

We propose generalizations of a broad class of traditional supply chain planning and logistics models that we call supply chain planning and logistics problems with market choice. Instead of the traditional setting, we are given a set of markets, each specified by a sequence of demands and associated with a revenue. Decisions are made in two stages. In the first stage, one chooses a subset of markets and rejects the others. Once that market choice is made, one needs to construct a minimum-cost production plan (set of facilities) to satisfy all of the demands of all the selected markets. The goal is to minimize the overall lost revenues of rejected markets and the production (facility opening and connection) costs. These models capture important aspects of demand shaping within supply chain planning and logistics models. We introduce a general algorithmic framework that leverages existing approximation results for the traditional models to obtain corresponding results for their counterpart models with market choice. More specifically, any LP-based α-approximation for the traditional model can be leveraged to a \frac11-e^-1/a{\frac{1}{1-e^{-1/\alpha}}} -approximation algorithm for the counterpart model with market choice. Our techniques are also potentially applicable to other covering problems.     

Opportunistic supply chain formation from qualified partners for a new market demand

This paper addresses the problem of short-term supply chain design using the idle capacities of qualified partners in order to seize a new market opportunity. The new market opportunity is characterized by a deterministic forecast over a planning horizon. The production–distribution process is assumed to be organized in stages or echelons, and each echelon may have several qualified partners willing to participate. Partners within the echelon may differ in idle production capacity, operational cost, storage cost, etc, and we assume that idle capacity may be different from one period to another period. The objective is to design a supply chain by selecting one partner from each echelon to meet the forecasted demand without backlog and best possible production and logistics costs over the given planning horizon. The overall problem is formulated as a large mixed integer linear programming problem. We develop a decomposition-based solution approach that is capable of overcoming the complexity and dimensionality associated with the problem. Numerical results are presented to support the effectiveness of this approach.     

A model of market power and efficiency in private electronic exchanges

We investigate how private electronic markets (PEMs) can be used as a strategic tool by a large producer to compete against a consortium of smaller producers. We model the competition between a Large Producer and Consortium of producers in a two-tier supply chain as a game and characterize the resulting Subgame Perfect Nash Equilibrium. Our results demonstrate that as the costs of inputs to production increase, there are greater returns to ownership of a private exchange. Further, we demonstrate strong welfare enhancing effects of the PEM as the production efficiency of upstream suppliers declines. Finally, from a policy standpoint we show that when upstream suppliers are highly efficient, the creation of a private electronic exchange by the Large Producer will result in significant welfare loss.     

Pricing decisions for complementary products with firms’ different market powers

This article reports the results of a study that explores the pricing problems with regard to two complementary products in a supply chain with two manufacturers and one common retailer. The authors establish five pricing models under decentralized decision cases, including the MS-Bertrand, MS-Stackelberg, RS-Bertrand, RS-Stackelberg, and NG models, with consideration of different market power structures among channel members. By applying a game-theoretical approach, corresponding analytic solutions are obtained. Then, by comparing the maximum profits and optimal pricing decisions obtained in different decision cases, interesting and valuable managerial insights are established.     

The role of coherent supply chain strategy and performance management in achieving competitive advantage: an international survey

The results of a major international survey into the relationship between corporate strategy, supply chain strategy and supply chain performance management are reported. Five clearly defined groups are identified: Supply Chain Leaders, Strong and Weak Players, Lagging Players and Non-players. Those business units that report a close link between their supply chain strategy and their supply chain technology, in comparison with those that report a weaker link, displayed a consistent set of characteristics. They rate supply chain strategy as more important for corporate strategy. They have a relatively sophisticated definition of their supply chain strategy. They think their supply chain is more important in achieving competitive advantage, they have invested more in supply chain infrastructure and IT support and they have more formal means of assessing their supply chain performance. There is evidence of inconsistency in the way many businesses relate their supply chain, corporate, and investment strategy.     

工程供应链内涵与关键要素分析

工程供应链管理对于提高工程绩效具有十分重要的意义,已经成为工程管理的重要议题之一。工程的系统复杂性使得制造型供应链的一些相关理论可能并不适用于工程的实践过程。基于此,首先识别与分析工程实践过程中所包含的供应链理论元素;界定与分析工程供应链的概念与内涵;梳理并总结工程供应链与传统制造型供应链的异同;在此基础上,厘清工程供应链管理过程中应关注的系统要素,旨在为提高工程供应链管理绩效提供理论依据。     

On coordination of supply chain based on information asymmetry of effort level and fuzzy market environment

The agent’s private information contributes greatly to a person to make principal decision in the supply of a chain coordination. Therefore, it is a great issue for him to design an effective incentive mechanism in order to get the true information from the agent in his principle making. Assuming that the demand depend upon an agent’s effort level and the fuzzy market condition, the author in this paper researches and analyzes the principle-agent problem under fuzzy information asymmetry condition by using the theory of principal-agent as well as incentive mechanism.     

碳排放交易机制下的供应链运作策略及协调研究

碳排放权交易是控制和减少碳排放的有效工具,同时也使得企业的运作成本增加,供应链的决策管理更复杂。考虑由零售商和制造商组成的二阶段供应链,研究不同碳排放权交易政策(供应链成员内部碳排放权交易、外部市场碳排放权交易)下基于数量折扣契约的供应链协调问题,并与无碳排放约束的情形进行比较。研究结果表明:在不同碳排放权交易政策下,数量折扣契约能够实现供应链的协调;无碳排放约束的供应链最优订货量大于外部碳排放权交易的供应链最优订货量,成员内部碳排放交易下的供应链最优订货量和供应链期望利润随着碳排放配额的增加最终等于无碳排放约束下的供应链最优订货量和供应链期望利润;外部市场碳排放交易政策下供应链的期望利润随着碳排放配额的增加而增加。     

Quality investment and price decision in a risk-averse supply chain

In this paper, we investigate quality investment and price decision of a make-to-order (MTO) supply chain with uncertain demand in international trade. Due to volatility of orders from buyers, the supplier and the manufacturer in the supply chain are subject to financial risk. In contrast to the general assumption that players in a supply chain are risk neutral in quality investment and price decision, we consider the risk-averse behavior of the players in three different supply chain strategies: Vertical Integration (VI), Manufacturer’s Stackelberg (MS) and Supplier’s Stackelberg (SS). The study shows that both supply chain strategy and risk-averse behavior have significant impacts on quality investment and pricing. Compared to a risk-neutral supply chain, a risk-averse supply chain has lower, same and higher quality of products in VI, MS and SS, respectively. Also, we derive the conditions under which the supply chain strategy is implemented in a decentralized setting. A numerical study is used to illustrate some related issues.     

基于期权契约的供应链协调研究

供应链协调与优化一直都是供应链管理的核心议题之一.为分析供应链竞合背景下的供应链协调问题,验证期权契约对供应链的协调效果,文章在分析供应链基本运作的基础上,利用优化理论和方法构建了无契约协调时供应链的基准模型和期权契约下的供应链模型,通过有无契约时供应链及供应链成员利润的对比,分析说明期权契约的协调效果,通过不同决策模式下供应链及供应链成员利润分析,给出期权契约完全协调供应链的条件.在此基础上,进一步引入供应商间和零售商间的跨链补货,验证跨链补货策略对于提高供应链成员利润的有效性.     

The risk of second-tier supplier failures in serial supply chains: Implications for order policies and distributor autonomy

As organizations decrease inventory, the potential impact of a supply disruption increases. However, due to supply chain structural changes, the likelihood of a disruption may be less. Additionally independent supply chain actors may react to policy changes, changing supply chain configurations and perhaps reducing loss magnitudes. If risk is a product of likelihood and magnitude, does higher inventory reduce an organization’s supply related risk? This paper examines the supply risk issue within the context of a second-tier supply failure, and is grounded in inventory and resource dependency theories. By evaluating risk assessment in a simulation environment, exploratory findings suggest that increased inventory in a tiered supply chain can sometimes increase supply risk rather than decrease it. Managerial insights into the effects of supply chain stability and coordination are provided. By taking a systems perspective of supply risk management, organizations will be better able to manage supply risk concerns.     

A multi-objective approach to supply chain visibility and risk

This paper investigates the twin effects of supply chain visibility (SCV) and supply chain risk (SCR) on supply chain performance. Operationally, SCV has been linked to the capability of sharing timely and accurate information on exogenous demand, quantity and location of inventory, transport related cost, and other logistics activities throughout an entire supply chain. Similarly, SCR can be viewed as the likelihood that an adverse event has occurred during a certain epoch within a supply chain and the associated consequences of that event which affects supply chain performance. Given the multi-faceted attributes of the decision making process which involves many stages, objectives, and stakeholders, it beckons research into this aspect of the supply chain to utilize a fuzzy multi-objective decision making approach to model SCV and SCR from an operational perspective. Hence, our model incorporates the objectives of SCV maximization, SCR minimization, and cost minimization under the constraints of budget, customer demand, production capacity, and supply availability. A numerical example is used to demonstrate the applicability of the model. Our results suggest that decision makers tend to mitigate SCR first then enhance SCV.     

Supply chain structure in a market with deceptive counterfeits

Deceptive counterfeits differ from non-deceptive ones in that they are packaged and sold as authentic brand name products so that consumers may buy counterfeits unknowingly. When a distribution channel, referred to as the general channel, has been penetrated with deceptive counterfeits, a brand name company may need to restructure the way its products are distributed and rely on reliable channels such as certified stores or manufacturer-owned stores to guarantee 100% authenticity. In this paper, we first identify the conditions under which the general channel will carry deceptive counterfeits, and then analyze the optimal supply chain structure in the presence of counterfeits as well as by incorporating the wholesale price decisions, consumers’ risk attitude towards counterfeits and consumer loyalty towards the reliable stores. Our main finding is that the brand name company should continue to sell, sometimes exclusively, through the general channel despite deceptive counterfeiting under various conditions.     

Contract design and supply chain coordination in the electricity industry

In this article we propose a model of the supply chain in electricity markets with multiple generators and retailers and considering several market structures. We analyze how market design interacts with the different types of contract and market structure to affect the coordination between the different firms and the performance of the supply chain as a whole. We compare the implications on supply chain coordination and on the players’ profitability of two different market structures: a pool based market vs. bilateral contracts, taking into consideration the relationship between futures and spot markets. Furthermore, we analyze the use of contracts for differences and two-part-tariffs as tools for supply chain coordination. We have concluded that there are multiple equilibria in the supply chain contracts and structure and that the two-part tariff is the best contract to reduce double marginalization and increase efficiency in the management of the supply chain.     

资金约束下三层供应链的融资和定价决策研究

实际生活中,供应链的资金管理是极其复杂多变的,现有学者关于供应链定价问题研究多以简单的二层供应链为基础,脱离了实际可用性。本文将二层供应链拓展成三层供应链,以单一供应商、单一生产商和单一零售商组成的三层供应链为研究对象,在市场风险中性的假设条件下,探究在供应商拥有不同初始资金约束情形下的供应链融资与最优定价决策,弥补了原先模型使用范围的狭隘性。通过模型的建立与数值分析显示,当供应商存在资金约束时,供应链融资能够使整条供应链上参与者的最优利润增加,从而创造价值。