Strategic bidding in an accumulating priority queue: equilibrium analysis

This paper considers the pricing decisions of substitutable products which are produced by duopolistic manufacturers respectively and then sold by one common retailer to the consumers. Both the manufacturing cost and the customer demand for each product are characterized as fuzzy variables. Six expected value models are developed to explore the effects of the duopolistic manufacturers’ three pricing strategies (i.e. Bertrand competition, Stackelberg competition, cooperation) and vertical competition between the manufacturers and the retailer on the optimal pricing decisions and channel profit-split of a two echelon supply chain, and the corresponding analytical solutions are derived. Finally, a numerical example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed models, and to gain additional managerial insights.     

Coordinating a three-stage supply chain with competing manufacturers

It is common for multiple manufacturers to compete in one common market. This paper considers a three-stage supply chain consisting of two competing manufacturers, one distributor, and one retailer. The two manufacturers’ products are substitutable with each other, and both manufacturers sell their products through the common distributor and the common retailer. In this supply chain, three contract mechanisms are discussed. The first one is wholesale-price (WP) contracts. The second one is pairwise revenue-sharing (PRS) contracts indicating that the revenues are shared by all pairs of adjacent entities. The third one is spanning revenue-sharing (SRS) contract indicating that the retailer simultaneously shares his revenues with all supply chain members. First, we discuss the effects of competition between manufacturers on both decentralized and centralized supply chains under the WP contracts. Second, we discuss the coordination mechanisms. The PRS and SRS contracts are used to coordinate the entire supply chain. We present the drawbacks of the PRS contracts in coordinating this competing supply chain and suggest using the SRS contract instead. After an SRS contract is adopted, it is evaluated using the WP contracts as a benchmark. The conditions necessary for an SRS contract to achieve a win–win outcome are then presented. Finally, some numerical examples are provided.     

The shelf space and pricing strategies for a retailer-dominated supply chain with consignment based revenue sharing contracts

Consider a two-echelon supply chain consisting of two manufacturers and a dominant retailer, such as big supermarkets like Walmart. Under a consignment contract with revenue sharing, the two manufacturers sell through the retailer two substitutable products whose demands are dependent on their shelf space and sales prices. The two manufacturers may compete horizontally for shelf space and pricing by three scenarios: Nash game, Stackelberg game, and collusion, and play vertically the retailer-Stackelberg game with the retailer. For each of these horizontal scenarios, we present all participators’ equilibrium strategies and their corresponding profits, based on which the impacts of manufacturers’ cost difference and moving sequence are investigated. Additionally, we discuss whether a horizontal collusion among manufacturers occurs when they choose their scenarios and whether centralization is always beneficial for the entire chain under the considered consignment contract. The study reveals the following results: (i) When the manufacturers compete horizontally, the high-cost manufacturer always sets a high-price and less shelf space strategy, while the low-cost manufacturer always adopts a low-price and more shelf space strategy, which is not affected by their moving sequence. If they collude horizontally, it is just reverse. (ii) When the two manufacturers compete horizontally, all participators’ equilibrium strategies and their corresponding profits are significantly influenced by manufacturers’ moving sequence. (iii) A horizontal collusion between the manufacturers can occur only when their cost difference is relatively small; this finding supplements existing literature. (iv) When the cost difference between manufacturers is relatively big, then centralization may be detrimental to the entire chain, which can explain why several supply chains adopt vertical competition strategies in practice. In addition, we find that these results still hold for the limited shelf space scenario and shelf-space limitation enhances the horizontal and vertical competition intensity by increasing shelf space fee.     

Coordinated decisions for substitutable products in a common retailer supply chain

This paper studies coordination mechanisms in a supply chain which consists of two suppliers with capacity uncertainties selling differential yet substitutable products through a common retailer who faces price-sensitive random demand of these two products. We develop in a noncompetitive setting three coordination models – revenue sharing, return policy, and combination of revenue sharing and return policy – and contrast them with a basic and uncoordinated model. We are able to establish the ordinal relationship among the retailer’s ordering and pricing decisions and analytically compare the performances between certain models when two suppliers are identical. We find that the retailer’s ordering and pricing decisions in the model with return policy in the case of identical suppliers are independent of demand or supply uncertainty. Our numerical results reveal that the performances of coordination models in the case of nonidentical suppliers resemble those in the case of identical suppliers. We find that the retailer will place a larger order quantity in models where her average cost per unit sold is smaller. We also find that product substitutability and uncertainties have different effects on chain performances.     

Bilateral information sharing in two supply chains with complementary products

Information sharing has been regarded as a major way to promote collaboration or to optimize overall supply chain performance. Most of the literature has focused on unilateral information sharing in a supply chain with single or substitutable products. This paper investigates bilateral information sharing in two supply chains with complementary products, and formulates four decision models based on different information sharing patterns. Our results show that (i) information sharing always benefits the manufacturer, and benefits the retailer and the whole supply chain under certain conditions; (ii) information sharing increases/decreases the positive effect of the retailer’s/manufacturer’s forecast on the optimal pricing strategies in its own supply chain; however, its impact depends on the parameter conditions in the other complementary supply chain.     

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.     

低碳环境下供应链差异化定价与协调机制研究

以低碳和普通产品两个制造商和一个零售商组成的两级供应链系统为研究对象,探讨了供应链的差异化定价与协调机制问题。求解得到了两制造商和零售商的最优定价策略及可行的低碳产品生产成本范围。研究发现:1)分散决策的差异化定价策略无法达到供应链协调;2)在可行的低碳产品生产成本范围内,低碳产品制造商、零售商和整个供应链系统的利润都随低碳产品生产成本的增加而减少,只有普通产品制造商的利润随低碳产品生产成本的增加而增加。因此,降低低碳产品生产成本是促进低碳产品推广的关键。针对分散决策造成供应链效率损失的情况,采用Shapley值法进行协调,并给出了契约协调机制。最后,通过算例分析了消费者价格敏感性变化和低碳产品生产成本上升对最优决策和供应链利润的影响。     

Pricing policies for complementary products in a dual-channel supply chain

This paper investigates the pricing problem of complementary products in a supply chain with two manufacturers and one retailer, one of the two manufacturers uses dual channels including an online channel and a traditional retail channel to sell its product. We formulate four pricing game models through considering different market power structures of channel members, and derive the corresponding optimal pricing strategies. Based on the theoretical and numerical analysis, we study the effects of consumer channel loyalty, the level of complementarity, and the market power structures on the pricing strategies and the maximal profits of two complementary products. Some interesting and valuable managerial insights are obtained.     

基于市场需求增加的双渠道闭环供应链定价机制研究

针对制造商开辟在线销售渠道现象的普及,考虑混合双渠道销售会增加产品的潜在需求,构建制造商与零售商分散、集中定价两种决策模型,利用博弈理论对模型进行求解分析,研究表明在双方分散、集中两种定价策略模型中,随着双渠道开通导致的市场需求率的增加,制造商的批发价、零售商的销售价格上调,零售商的回收价格下降,闭环供应链系统总利润则呈现先下降后上升的变化。最后,运用数值算例进一步验证和讨论双渠道销售导致的市场需求增加对闭环供应链系统定价策略、双方利润及系统渠道效率的影响。     

退款保证对竞争供应链的影响:基于顾客退货行为视角

为研究退款保证对竞争供应链的影响,从顾客退货行为视角构建消费者效用函数,建立竞争制造商与在线零售商之间的博弈模型,分析退款保证对供应链均衡的影响。研究发现:高质量产品的批发价格和零售价格总是更高,但高质量产品制造商可能并不能获得更多利润;退款保证会影响消费者的产品购买选择,对低质量产品需求有利。然而,从利润最大化的角度,在线零售商只有在退货损失足够低时,才会有动机提供退款保证,而退款保证对制造商利润的影响取决于退货产品残值。     

Strategic wholesale pricing in a supply chain with a potential entrant

This paper develops an adverse selection model for a two-stage supply chain with one supplier, one retailer, and a potential outside entrant supplier who makes a partially substitutable product. The work is different from most research on entry deterrence that only considers a single-stage model. Our main interest is to investigate how the incumbent supplier can strategically maximize her profit by a wholesale pricing policy when facing the potential entrant. We focus on a model where the entrant supplier will sell her product through the same incumbent retailer. We derive the optimal decisions for each player and study the comparative statics of the equilibrium. To investigate how the supply chain structure may affect the deterrence strategy of the incumbent supplier, we also consider three alternative models with different channel structures, when both suppliers sell their products directly, when the entrant has another independent retailer, and when the entrant sells her product directly. Through the comparison, we find that the existence of the common downstream retailer often enhances the deterring motivation of the incumbent supplier.     

Revenue management for a supply chain with two streams of customers

In this paper, we consider revenue management for a service supply chain with one supplier and one retailer. The supplier has a limited capacity of a perishable product and both the supplier and the retailer face customers. Each customer may choose to buy a product from either the supplier or the retailer by considering prices and the cost associated with switching. For the centralized model, the supplier determines the selling prices for both herself and the retailer, and the retailer simply collects a commission fee for each product sold. We derive monotone properties for the revenue functions and pricing strategies. Further, we show that the commission fee increases the retailer’s price while decreasing the supplier’s and leads to efficiency loss of the chain. For the decentralized decision-making model, the supplier and the retailer compete in price over time. Two models are considered. In the first, the retailer buys products from the supplier before the selling season and in the second the retailer shares products with the supplier in retailing. For both models, we discuss the existence of the equilibrium and characterize the optimal decisions. Numerical results are presented to illustrate properties of the models and to compare the supply chain performance between the centralized and the decentralized models.     

考虑权力结构的产品服务供应链服务渠道选择及协调研究

在制造业服务化转型过程中,传统的产品供应链转变为了产品服务供应链,为顾客提供产品和服务,服务可以由制造商或零售商提供,权力结构会对服务渠道的选择产生影响。本文通过建立博弈模型,研究了制造商为核心、零售商为核心以及制造商与零售商权力均等三种权力结构下最优服务渠道的选择问题,并应用两部定价契约对最优服务渠道的结果进行协调。研究发现,当制造商为核心时,最优的服务渠道为零售商提供服务,当零售商为核心时,最优的服务渠道为制造商提供服务,当制造商与零售商权力均等时,不存在最优的服务渠道。两部定价契约可以实现最优服务渠道的协调,最后通过数值仿真对结论进行了验证。     

Contracting with demand uncertainty under supply chain competition

We examine supply chain contracts for two competing supply chains selling a substitutable product, each consisting of one manufacturer and one retailer. Both manufacturers are Stackelberg leaders and the retailers are followers. Manufacturers in two competing supply chains may choose different contracts, either a wholesale price contract in which the retailer??s demand forecasting information is not shared, or a revenue-sharing contract in which the retailer??s demand forecasting information is shared. Under supply chain competition and demand uncertainty, we identify which contract is more advantageous for each supply chain, and under what circumstances.     

基于在线评论的多个竞争制造商和零售商的产品定价策略

在线评论作为一种产品信息传播载体,越来越受到网上电商及消费者的重视,并在很大程度上影响消费者的购买决策。本文在多个竞争性制造商为在线零售商提供可替代性产品并通过零售商销售给网络消费者的电子商务环境下,研究在线评论信息如何影响网络消费者购买决策及在线零售商和制造商的定价策略。以neo-Hoteling模型为基础,构建了依赖零售渠道在线评论的消费者选择模型,并通过模型求解定量分析了二级供应链结构分散系统下在线评论对多个竞争性制造商及零售商最优决策的影响。得到当制造商基于评论制定最优定价策略时,在线评论对市场竞争强度没有影响,但决定潜在市场大小;各产品的均衡批发价及销售价按一定的比例随评论揭示的该产品与其他产品质量均值之差(正或负)增加或减少,评论信息通常会使制造商因好评而获利,由于评论增加了不同产品需求的不对称性,零售商因而具有更大的调价空间,往往通过提高(降低)占据有利(不利)评论的产品价格获得更高的利润。     

不同渠道偏好和运营成本下双渠道闭环供应链定价决策研究

本文以消费者对传统零售渠道和网络直销渠道的不同偏好和不同渠道运营成本为基础,研究零售商销售新产品并回收废旧产品、制造商开辟网络直销渠道的双渠道闭环供应链中成员的定价决策问题。建立三种不同市场权力结构下的定价博弈模型,用逆向归纳法得到模型的最优解,并用解析分析和数值分析得到消费者的渠道偏好程度和渠道运营成本对定价决策和利润的影响。研究表明:最优直销价格随网络直销渠道偏好程度的增加而上升,最优零售价格随网络直销渠道偏好程度的增加而下降;网络直销渠道运营成本增加对零售商有利但不利于制造商;传统渠道运营成本的增加对所有成员都不利。     

绿色产品定价与市场入侵研究:基于市场权力结构的视角

为研究绿色产品定价与市场入侵问题,针对由两个制造商和一个零售商组成的系统,构建了制造商主导、零售商主导以及供需双方均势等三种权力结构模型,分析了权力结构、消费者绿色偏好等因素对绿色产品定价和市场入侵的影响。研究发现:绿色产品入侵市场存在可行条件,并且绿色产品市场入侵会导致普通产品制造商的利润损失;市场入侵对零售商有利,说明零售商会有动机引入绿色产品;绿色产品入侵市场和市场权力结构均会影响各个企业最优定价策略,其中拥有主导权的企业会选择高价策略;权力结构会影响供需双方的利润分配,以及导致系统利润的损失。     

CVaR准则下两条供应链的促销努力竞争与链内协调研究

研究两条供应链相互竞争下决策者风险厌恶程度的影响和链内协调问题。针对两条分别由风险中性制造商和风险厌恶零售商组成、进行订货与促销竞争的可替代产品供应链,假定需求随机且依赖于促销努力水平与产品合格率,利用条件风险值(CVaR)方法和博弈理论建立了对应两条供应链均为分散式供应链(DD模式)、均为集中式供应链(II模式)、一条为分散式供应链一条为集中式供应链(DI模式)的EPEC、Nash和MPEC竞争决策模型,给出了三种模式下的竞争均衡决策、以及零售商为风险厌恶者时可实现链内协调的回购加促销补贴契约。进一步分析了零售商风险中性情况。最后的算例验证了模型的合理性和协调契约的有效性。研究表明,零售商越厌恶风险,其订货量越低;产品合格率越高,零售商的促销努力水平越大;供应链协调是供应链竞争下的占优策略。     

Interactions of competing manufacturers’ leader-follower relationship and sales format on online platforms

Currently, manufacturers can sell products on e-tailers’ online platforms through agency sales format or reselling format. However, how to choose the best sales formats has puzzled competing manufacturers in practice. The main purpose of this paper is to answer this problem by considering the combined effects of manufacturers’ leader-follower relationships, the e-tailer’s referral fees, the difference in products’ substitutable degrees and the difference in products’ market bases. Our results show that, if demand functions are linearly price-dependent, when two manufacturers sell substitutable products on the same e-tailer’s online platform, the e-tailer’s best action is always to let both manufacturers adopt reselling format; regardless of one manufacturer’s sales format, the other manufacturer always prefers agency sales format, which are independent of the e-tailer’s referral fees, the difference in two products’ substitutable degrees and the difference in two products’ market bases. Whether demand functions are linear or nonlinear in retail prices, the e-tailer’s best action is to let both manufacturers whose products are symmetric adopt reselling format; no matter what sales format one manufacturer adopts, the other manufacturer always prefers agency sales format, which are independent of the two manufacturers’ leader-follower relationships. Moreover, if two manufacturers adopt same sales format to sell symmetric products, leader role enables a manufacturer to charge higher optimal wholesale/retail price when demand functions are linear in retail prices, but the two products have equal optimal wholesale/retail prices regardless of the two manufacturers’ leader-follower relationships when demand functions are nonlinear in retail prices.     

不确定情况下逆向供应链的协作与定价策略研究

基于单一制造商和单一零售商构成的逆向供应链系统,应用博弈理论和模糊理论对逆向供应链的协作与定价策略进行了研究.针对回收产品价格的不确定性,将回收价格看作是三角模糊数,采用Chen与H sieh提出的梯级平均综合表示法确定模糊回收价格的解模糊值,由此,建立非合作博弈模型和合作博弈模型,并给出均衡条件下制造商和零售商各自的回收价格策略.最后,举例说明了该方法的有效性.