Price discount based on early order commitment in a single manufacturer–multiple retailer supply chain

Early order commitment (EOC) is a strategy for supply chain coordination, wherein the retailer commits to purchasing from a manufacturer a fixed order quantity a few periods in advance of the regular delivery lead time. In this paper, we formulate and analyze the EOC strategy for a decentralized, two-level supply chain consisting of a single manufacturer and multiple retailers, who face external demands that follow an autocorrelated AR(1) process over time. We characterize the special structure of the optimal solutions for the retailers’ EOC periods to minimize the total supply chain cost and discuss the impact of demand parameters and cost parameters. We then develop and compare three solution approaches to solving the optimal solution. Using this optimal cost as the benchmark, we investigate the effectiveness of using the wholesale price-discount scheme for the manufacturer to coordinate this decentralized system. We give numerical examples to show the benefits of EOC to the whole supply chain, examine the efficiency of the discount scheme in general situation, and provide the special conditions when the full coordination is achieved.     

The value of early order commitment in a two-level supply chain

One approach to supply chain coordination is early order commitment, whereby a retailer commits to purchase a fixed-order quantity at a fixed delivery time before demand uncertainty is resolved. In this paper, we develop an analytical model to quantify the cost savings of an early order commitment in a two-level supply chain where demand is serially correlated. A decision rule is derived to determine whether early order commitment will benefit the supply chain, and accordingly to determine the optimal timing for early commitment. Our results indicate that the supply chain would experience greater savings from early order commitment when – (a) the inventory item receives less value-added activities at the retailer site; (b) the manufacturing lead time is short; (c) demand correlation over time is positive but weak; or (d) the delivery lead time is long (if a condition exists). We also propose a rebate scheme for the supply chain partners to share the gains of practicing early order commitment.     

A study on lead-time discount coordination for deteriorating products

Goods flowing through supply chains usually deteriorate. Such goods may corrupt, volatilize, and degenerate over time and thus cause the decline of their values or quantity. This study focuses on lead-time coordination for supply chains with deteriorating products which facilitates member cooperation and long-time relationships, thus increasing profit for the entire supply chain. A two-level supply chain with a single supplier and a single retailer is considered, in which the product deteriorates in the same manner for both the supplier and retailer, which is allowed to have shortages. A lead-time discount coordination strategy is used to maximize the profit of the entire supply chain by appropriately determining the optimal order quantity and lead-time. A numerical example is given, and sensitivity analyses are performed to analyze the influence of various parameters on the overall profit. The results can help managers establish long-term cooperative relationships in supply chains.     

需求预测更新条件下两阶段电子商务供应链契约协调

研究了一类在贝叶斯需求预测更新情形下,生命周期中采用B2C与C2B两阶段进行产品销售的供应链模型,研究发现无法使用单一契约来协调供应链。在此基础上,设计了具有供应商价格折扣契约与零售商承诺订购契约的两阶段供应链契约协调机制,证明了两阶段协调机制能够实现供应链的帕累托改进。算例分析表明了两阶段契约协调机制的有效性,并发现能够实现供应链完美协调的契约参数不一定在帕累托集合内,供应链不一定能够达到完美协调;且由于零售商与供应商的最优契约参数不同,需要通过零售商与供应商之间的谈判达到纳什均衡。     

Multi-period modeling of two-way price commitment under price-dependent demand

This paper examines the use of price-commitment policies in dynamic contracting in multiple-period, finite-time horizons. Two specific forms of price commitment are considered: one on the part of the retailer through a retail-fixed-markup contract and one on the part of the manufacturer through a price-protection contract. Optimal policies for each form of price commitment are analytically derived, as are optimal policies for the traditional price-only and centralized supply chain scenarios that we use as comparisons. We prove that optimal retail price and order size solutions exist in each period under the assumption of non-increasing price-dependent demand. We show that the existence of retailer inventory between periods causes the optimal policies to differ from a static single-period model. Further, we show that a supplier offers a price-protection policy as a signal to the retailer to resolve the gaming that naturally occurs under price-only; this effectively decouples the multi-period dynamic contracting setting into repeated single-period scenarios. However, the resulting behavior can actually inhibit supply chain performance. On the retail commitment side, we find that retail-fixed-markup policies are quite effective in improving supply chain efficiency. We show that such policies can lead to Pareto-improvement over price-only contracts and can even coordinate the supply chain in some situations.     

Coordinating order quantity decisions in the supply chain contract under random demand

In this paper, we are concerned with the coordinating quantity decision problem in a supply chain contract. The supply chain contract is composed of one manufacturer and one retailer to meet the random demand of a single product with a short lifecycle. Our analysis show that the retailer expects to obtain higher profit under proper ordering policies, which can also maximize the expected profit of the supply chain. The manufacturer may induce the retailer to order the coordinated quantity by adjusting the unit return price. As a result, the supply chain is expected to achieve the optimal expected profit.     

Single-supplier/multiple-buyer supply chain coordination: Incorporating buyers’ expectations under vertical information sharing

We address the coordination problem in a single-supplier/multiple-buyer supply chain. The supplier wishes to coordinate the supply chain by offering quantity discounts. To obtain their complete cost information, the supplier exchanges his own cost parameters with buyers leading to vertical information sharing. The supplier thinks that the buyers, as they have access to supplier’s setup and holding cost information, may demand a portion of the anticipated coordination savings based on the partial information they hold about the cost structure of the entire supply chain. We model each buyer’s expectations based on her limited view of the entire supply chain which consists of herself and the supplier only. These expectations are then incorporated into the modeling of the supply chain, which results in a generalization of the traditional Stackelberg type models. We discuss alternative efficiency sharing mechanisms, and propose methods to design the associated discount schemes that take buyers’ expectations into account. In designing the discount schemes, we consider both price discriminatory and non-price discriminatory approaches. The study adds to the existing body of work by incorporating buyers’ expectations into a constrained Stackelberg structure, and by achieving coordination without forcing buyers to explicitly comply with the supplier’s replenishment period in choosing their order quantities. The numerical analysis of the coordination efficiency and allocation of the net savings of the proposed discount schemes shows that the supplier is still able to coordinate the supply chain with high efficiency levels, and retain a significant portion of the net savings.     

时滞变质品供应链的数量折扣协调模型

在由单个批发商与单个零售商组成的两级时滞变质品供应链中,分别建立分散决策和集中决策下供应链系统的单位时间利润函数,通过比较得到集中决策优于分散决策的条件。引入数量折扣契约对时滞变质品供应链进行协调,促使整个供应链系统实现集中决策下的最优状态。设计收益共享合同来合理分配协调后的利润增量,保证批发商和零售商的单位时间利润都比协调前有所增加,从而实现供应链系统的帕累托改善。最后,通过数值算例演示了两种决策模式的单位时间利润情况,并分析了关键参数对供应链系统及各成员企业单位时间利润水平的影响。     

Coordination of cooperative cost-reduction efforts in a supply chain partnership

We study cooperative cost reduction in a decentralized supply chain with a single manufacturer and multiple suppliers. The manufacturer assembles components that are procured from the suppliers to produce a final product. Both the manufacturer and the suppliers invest in reducing the unit production costs of the components. We see that neither of the two well-known conventional contracts, the wholesale price contract and the cost-plus pricing contract, generally coordinates the supply chain, i.e., under both of these types of contract, the individual optimal cost-reduction efforts of players deviate from the centralized system-optimal solution. However, this result is not surprising because these contracts encourage either only the manufacturer or only the suppliers alone to invest in cost reduction.     

Managing a dual-channel supply chain under price and delivery-time dependent stochastic demand

Several leading manufacturers recently combined the traditional retail channel with a direct online channel to reach a wider range of customers. We examine such a dual-channel supply chain under price and delivery-time dependent stochastic customer demand. We consider five decision variables, the price and order quantity for both the retail and the online channels and the delivery time for the online channel. Uncertainty frequently arises in both retail and online channels and so additional inventory management is required to control shortage or overstock and that has an effect on the optimal order quantity, price, and lead time. We developed mathematical models with the profit maximization motive. We analyze both centralized and decentralized systems for unknown distribution function of the random variables through a distribution-free approach and also for known distribution function. We examine the effect of delivery lead time and customers’ channel preference on the optimal operation. For supply chain coordination a hybrid all-unit quantity discount along a franchise fee contract is used. Moreover, we use the generalized asymmetric Nash bargaining for surplus profit distribution. A numerical example illustrates the findings of the model and the managerial insights are summarized for centralized, decentralized, and coordinated scenarios.     

突发事件下需求信息不对称时的供应链协调应对

协调供应链系统使其具有抗突发事件性的研究是供应链管理的核心议题之一。为了分析突发事件下需求信息不对称时的供应链协调问题,考虑由一个制造商和一个零售商组成的供应链,在随机市场需求下,首先分析了数量折扣契约对供应链的协调作用;然后探讨了突发事件导致市场需求发生变化且变化后的需求信息是不对称信息时数量折扣契约对供应链的协调作用,研究表明:基准的数量折扣契约对突发事件下的供应链不再发挥协调作用,为此,给出了供应链应对突发事件的最优应对策略,并调整了原来的数量折扣契约使其具有抗突发事件性。最后,应用一个算例对比加以说明。     

基于CRE的供应链渠道协作利润优化研究

为了实现供应链合作伙伴的双赢和多赢,在由一个制造商和两个批发商组成的供应链中,以制定最优共同补货周期策略为核心,制造商作为盟主指定共同补货周期和折扣率,批发商作为成员企业按共同补货同期的整数倍进行补货.制造商采用一致价格折扣的方式弥补批发商成本的增加.考虑到需求的可变性和是否实行共同补货周期策略,建立了制造商、批发商和整个供应链系统的利润优化模型并进行了模拟.结果表明共同补货周期策略可以实现多方收益的帕累托改进,供应链三方协作追求整体收益,可以实现"共赢".     

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。     

An optimization approach for supply chain management models with quantity discount policy

Owing to the difficulty of treating nonlinear functions, many supply chain management (SCM) models assume that the average prices of materials, production, transportation, and inventory are constant. This assumption, however, is not practical. Vendors usually offer quantity discounts to encourage the buyers to order more, and the producer intends to discount the unit production cost if the amount of production is large. This study solves a nonlinear SCM model capable of treating various quantity discount functions simultaneously, including linear, single breakpoint, step, and multiple breakpoint functions. By utilizing the presented linearization techniques, such a nonlinear model is approximated to a linear mixed 0–1 program solvable to obtain a global optimum.     

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.     

Single versus multiple supplier sourcing strategies

Successful supply chain management necessitates an effective sourcing strategy to combat uncertainties in both supply and demand. In particular, supply disruption results in excessive downtime of production resources, upstream and downstream supply chain repercussions, and eventually a loss in the market value of the firm. In this paper we analyze single period, single product sourcing decisions under demand uncertainty. Our approach integrates product prices, supplier costs, supplier capacities, historical supplier reliabilities and firm specific inventory costs. A unique feature of our approach is the integration of a firm specific supplier diversification function. We also extend our analysis to examine the impact of minimum supplier order quantities. Our results indicate that single sourcing is a dominant strategy only when supplier capacities are large relative to the product demand and when the firm does not obtain diversification benefits. In other cases, we find that multiple sourcing is an optimal sourcing strategy. We also characterize a non-intuitive trade-off between supplier minimum order quantities, costs, and supplier reliabilities. Finally, we examine the robustness of our results through an extensive numerical analysis of the key parameters of our model.     

Supply chain analysis under a price-discount incentive scheme for electric vehicles

We investigate an automobile supply chain where a manufacturer and a retailer serve heterogeneous consumers with electric vehicles (EVs) under a government’s price-discount incentive scheme that involves a price discount rate and a subsidy ceiling. We show that the subsidy ceiling is more effective in influencing the optimal wholesale pricing decision of the manufacturer with a higher unit production cost. However, the discount rate is more effective for the manufacturer with a lower unit production cost. Moreover, the expected sales are increasing in the discount rate but may be decreasing in the subsidy ceiling. Analytic results indicate that an effective incentive scheme should include both a discount rate and a subsidy ceiling. We also derive the necessary condition for the most effective discount rate and subsidy ceiling that maximize the expected sales of EVs, and obtain a unique discount rate and subsidy ceiling that most effectively improve the manufacturer’s incentive for EV production.     

Sustaining long-term supply chain partnerships using price-only contracts

In this paper, we study how an informal, long-term relationship between a manufacturer and a retailer performs in turbulent market environments characterized by uncertain demand. We show that the long-term partnership based on repeated interaction is sustainable under price-only contracts when the supply chain partners are sufficiently patient. That is, the channel can be coordinated over a long time horizon when the factor whereby the members discount the future value of this trusting relationship is sufficiently high. Second, above the minimum discount factor, a range of wholesale prices exists that can sustain the long-term partnership, and there are different possible profit divisions between the two players. Third, when the market is turbulent, i.e., either the expected demand or the demand variance changes from period to period according to a probabilistic law, it is typically less possible to sustain the long-term partnership in a booming market or in a market with low demand variability. Finally, obtaining more information about future market fluctuation may not help the supply chain to sustain the long-term partnership, due to partners’ strategic considerations. With the availability of the market signal, total supply chain profits increase, but the retailer may even be worse-off.     

A heuristic for single-warehouse multiretailer supply chains with all-unit transportation cost discounts

In supply chain management research, transportation costs, if explicitly considered at all, are frequently assumed to be linear. These costs often have a more complex form, such as an all-unit discount structure – this piecewise cost function adds significant complexity when included in supply chain management problems and is therefore often ignored due to solution time or tractability concerns. We present and evaluate a new heuristic procedure which provides good solutions to problems involving all-unit discount cost functions while significantly reducing solution times. The general nature of this procedure does not require assumptions about the supply chain structure or policies, and is therefore applicable in a wide range of settings.     

Vendor managed inventory contracts – coordinating the supply chain while looking from the vendor’s perspective

The paper studies coordination of a supply chain when the inventory is managed by the vendor (VMI). We also provide a general mathematical framework that can be used to analyze contracts under both retailer managed inventory (RMI) and VMI. Using a simple newsvendor scenario with a single vendor and single retailer, we study five popular coordinating supply chain contracts: buyback, quantity flexibility, quantity discount, sales rebate, and revenue sharing contracts. We analyze the ability of these contracts to coordinate the supply chain under VMI when the vendor freely decides the quantity. We find that even though all of them coordinate under RMI, quantity flexibility and sales rebate contracts do not generally coordinate under VMI. Furthermore, buyback and revenue sharing contracts are equivalent. Hence, we propose two new contracts which coordinate under VMI (one of which coordinates under RMI too, provided a well-known assumption holds). Finally, we extend our analysis to consider multiple independent retailers with the vendor incurring linear or convex production cost, and show that our results are qualitatively unchanged.