供应商风险规避情形下基于期权契约的组装供应链协调

基于产品分工的发展及供应链成员风险偏好不同的特性,构建了由多个风险规避的零部件供应商和一个组装商构成的两阶段组装供应链模型.首先,发现在各供应商均采用批发价格契约向组装商提供零部件情况下,各供应商的最优产量均小于集中决策下的最优产量;其次,引入期权契约机制对组装供应链进行了协调;最后,通过数值算例验证了期权契约协调机制的有效性.     

装配系统中的供应商融资:银行贷款vs买方预付款

由多个供应商和一个装配商组成的装配系统中,装配商组装的最终产品需要由供应商提供零部件,不同供应商提供的零部件是互补的。供应商与装配商之间采用批发价格合同,由供应商决定批发价格而装配商决定订货量。供应商的资金是有限的,可能影响其供货能力以及装配系统的效率。供应商可以向银行借款或者由下游装配商提供预付款以缓解其资金约束的不利影响。针对银行贷款的情形,分析了装配系统的均衡订货量与批发价格,并通过图示直观地描述了资金约束对均衡订货量的影响。在装配商提供预付款时,若预付比例为外生变量,则供应商之间的博弈存在存策略纳什均衡,装配系统的绩效与预付比例以及供应商的资金有关;若预付比例是供应商的决策变量,则预付款可有效解决供应商的资金约束,相比于银行贷款,预付款的融资模式可使装配商和装配系统取得更高的利润。     

A note on coordination in decentralized assembly systems with uncertain component yields

Gurnani and Gerchak [H. Gurnani, Y. Gerchak, Coordination in decentralized assembly systems with uncertain component yields, European Journal of Operational Research 176 (2007) 1559–1576] study coordination of a decentralized assembly system in which the demand of the assembler is deterministic and the component yields are random. They present incentive alignment control mechanisms under which system coordination is achieved. In this note, we extend Gurnani and Gerchak’s model to the case of positive salvage value and n asymmetric suppliers, and show that the shortage penalty contract which can coordinate Gurnani and Gerchak’s model no longer coordinates the extended model. Furthermore, we present a new kind of contract, surplus subsidy contract, to coordinate the extended model and prove that the profit of the supply chain under coordination can be arbitrarily divided between the component suppliers and the assembler.     

The impact of decision timing on the suppliers’ interactions: simultaneous moves <Emphasis Type="Italic">versus</Emphasis> sequential moves

The last few decades have witnessed a huge growth of outsourcing in industry where the downstream firm assigns its production tasks to different upstream suppliers. This makes the supply chain structure more complicated and gives rise to some relevant operational questions. This paper focuses on a supply chain structure that consists of one assembler and two suppliers, and both suppliers’ production yields are stochastic. The assembler delegates the quantity decisions to the suppliers, and the two suppliers choose their production quantities either simultaneously or sequentially. We compare the suppliers’ equilibrium production strategies under these two scenarios. Our results show that the decision sequence can exert significant influences on the firm’s and channel’s equilibrium payoffs. At any given wholesale price, both suppliers produce more components under sequential moves than under simultaneous moves, and this results in higher payoffs for the suppliers, the assembler and the entire supply chain. The supplier’s profit increases if he can make the decision later under sequential moves. From the channel’s perspective, it is more beneficial for the supplier with a higher production cost to make the decision first. The assembler is able to extract more surplus by endogenously setting the wholesale price. However, this may make the suppliers worse off under sequential moves than under simultaneous moves.     

The implication of time-based payment contract in the decentralized assembly system

This paper investigates the impact of two time-based payment contracts in an assembly system that consists of one assembler and two suppliers, in which both suppliers’ production times are stochastic. The assembler initially chooses the contract type (delay payment contract vs on-time payment contract) and the buffer time, and two suppliers have to simultaneously determine their production lead times. We find that in equilibrium, both suppliers cut down their production lead times under the delay payment contract, and this makes them worse off than that under the on-time payment contract. Differently, the delay payment contract is the assembler’s dominant option. This is because by setting the buffer time, the assembler can significantly mitigate the possible delay risk caused by the suppliers’ decentralization under the delay payment contract. It also shows that the entire supply chain achieves the same service level under either the centralized condition or the decentralized condition, regardless of the applied payment contract type. Note that these results are robustness when we extend the model into the system containing N (N\(>\) 2) independent suppliers.     

Component ordering strategies in assembly systems with uncertain capacity and random yield

Sourcing components in a complex global supplier network may lead to a high degree of supply uncertainty. Events, such as unexpected production defects or insufficient supplier capacity, can cause unexpected shortages of required components and halt the assembly of final products. Accordingly, the assembly enterprises must effectively manage various supply uncertainties in their component ordering decisions to avoid such component shortfalls. These issues have guided this research to investigate the optimal ordering strategies of an assembler facing the following two types of supply uncertainty: the uncertain production capacity of a standard component (component 1) and the random production yield of a core component (component 2). The assembler makes the component ordering decisions before these supply uncertainties are realized. We characterize the optimal ordering decision and find that the assembler should order components 1 and 2 according to a fixed ratio, which only depends on the random yield of component 2 and the production cost of component 1, but not on the uncertain capacity of component 1. A case study is presented to further explore the intertwined effects of these two uncertainties in an assembly system. Finally, the model is extended to consider a secondary option of buying additional component 1 s after observing some or all of the supply uncertainties, and this secondary option endows the firm with different capabilities in counteracting the supply uncertainties.     

基于合作博弈的组装供应链转移定价策略

研究了由n个供应互补的原料产品的上游供应商和一个组装生产最终产品的下游组装商组成的集团公司内部的转移价格问题。其中下游组装商面临的是一个价格敏感型的需求。每个上游供应商可以独立决策其销售价格,并决定是否以谈判的价格出售原料产品给下游组装商。供应链系统内的所有供应商和组装商都可以自由决定彼此之间是否进行合作。结果表明,在大联盟结构下,供应链的利润是最高的。为了分配大联盟结构下供应链系统总的利润,本文构造了特征函数具有超模性质的合作博弈,并利用Shapley值分配方法给出了整个供应链系统内部的转移价格。     

Game-theoretic analyses of decentralized assembly supply chains: Non-cooperative equilibria vs. coordination with cost-sharing contracts

This paper considers a multiple-supplier, single manufacturer assembly supply chain where the suppliers produce components of a short life-cycle product which is assembled by the manufacturer. In this single-period problem the suppliers determine their production quantities and the manufacturer chooses the retail price. We assume that the manufacturer faces a random price-dependent demand in either additive or multiplicative form. For each case, we analyze both simultaneous-move and leader–follower games to respectively determine the Nash and Stackelberg equilibria, and find the globally-optimal solution that maximizes the system-wide expected profit. Then, we introduce appropriate buy-back and lost-sales cost-sharing contracts to coordinate this assembly supply chain, so that when all the suppliers and the manufacturer adopt their equilibrium solutions, the system-wide expected profit is maximized.     

两类供应风险下装配商的最优订购策略

针对两类供应风险(不确定产能与随机产出率)下装配制造商的零部件订购决策这一难题,运用随机非线性规划方法,以装配商期望利润最大化为目标,建立零部件订购决策的多维优化模型,刻画了确定需求下的最优订购量,并对其进行了灵敏性分析。最后,通过数值算例验证了模型结论并进一步探讨不同类供应风险的影响,为装配商的零部件订购决策和风险管理提供有益的管理启示。     

公平偏好下考虑供应商质量投入的供应链契约协调

针对传统的基于数量参考标准的奖励惩罚契约无法适应当下“多品种,小批量”的需求特点实现供应链协调,本文建立公平偏好情况下,以供应商提供产品的质量水平为参考标准的奖励惩罚契约模型,探讨其对供应链协调的影响。假设在由单个供应商和单个零售商组成的两级供应链系统中零售商具有公平偏好,分别就供应链内各参与主体渠道力量相等和渠道力量不相等这两种情形进行分析。研究发现零售商对自身收益和对公平的关注程度相同时,供应商和零售商会自愿的按照契约进行合作,取得均衡结果,实现供应链协调,且各参与主体渠道力量的不同会对供应链的整体利润产生显著影响。最后使用算例验证了结论。     

On coordinating an assembly system under random yield and random demand

We consider a decentralized assembly system in which the customer demand and the yield of the suppliers are random. We establish the concavity of expected supply chain profit for arbitrary number of suppliers. We propose two contracts and show that they coordinate the chain under forced compliance. The contracts are mixed type of contracts that include payments from different contract schemes. Particularly, a payment or a penalty to the worst performing supplier seems inevitable. Apart from providing a coordinating contract, we also provide qualitative insights based on a numerical illustration of centralized and decentralized solutions.     

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.     

A two-period supply contract model for a decentralized assembly system

Supply contract helps in coordinating the supply of quantities from different suppliers in order to meet the demand for a product. In this paper, supply contract models are developed by considering an assembly system operated under a centralized and a decentralized control modes. The centralized control mode considers a single decision maker and offers a global optimal solution. However, the decentralized control mode considers each player in the contract as a decision maker and offers local optimal solutions based on the production and cost characteristics of each player. Such local optimal solutions are adjusted through coordinating parameters to obtain global optimal solutions. If a contract developed for a decentralized control mode achieves the global optimal solution, then the supply chain (or channel) is said to be coordinated.     

考虑绿色等级和递送时间的双渠道绿色供应链

考虑了双渠道绿色供应链的定价决策问题.在集中式、分散式和协调合同条件下分别建立了双渠道绿色供应链的最优定价模型,给出了零售商和供应商的最优定价策略.研究表明,引入利润共享合同后零售商和供应商都会比在分散式决策下获得更多的利润.最后通过数值算例对不同条件下的模型进行了比较.     

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.     

Optimizing product service system by franchise fee contracts under information asymmetry

This paper studies the problem of how to effectively provide product service system (PSS) in a service-oriented manufacturing supply chain under asymmetric private demand information. The PSS in the supply chain is operated heterogeneously and complementarily, in which the manufacturer provides the product while the retailer who possesses private demand information is responsible for adding the necessary value-added service on the basic product. We address the issue of how different contracts affect the decisions and profitability of the supply chain members. Three types of contracts are developed to help supply chain partners to make decisions and enhance the supply chain’s efficiency. The first is the franchise fee (FF) contract, under which the manufacturer provides a two-part tariff contract (wholesale price and franchise fee) to influence the retailer’s decision and to detect her private demand information. The second is the franchise fee with service requirement (FFS) contract, under which the manufacturer specifies the service level required in addition to the two-part tariff contract terms. The third is the franchise fee with centralized service requirement (FFCS) contract, which is similar to the FFS contract but that the service level specified by the manufacturer is the system optimal solution. Our analytical results show that all three contracts enable the manufacturer to detect the retailer’s private demand information, with the FFCS contract achieving the greatest channel profit. Finally, numerical examples are presented, and sensitivity analysis of service level and profit are conducted to compare the performance of the three contracts under different settings. The paper provides managerial guidelines for the manufacturer in contract offering under different conditions.     

看涨期权契约与看跌期权契约对比分析研究

在面临相同随机市场需求的情况下,本文对期权契约中的看涨期权与看跌期权契约进行了对比分析,以期为决策者在实际采购活动中选择不同类型的期权契约时提供决策依据。通过模型建立与求解分析,本文得出了销售商接受期权契约时,契约参数需要满足的条件及相应的订购策略;并进一步得出了两种期权契约下,供应链达到协调状态时的具体条件,分析了此时契约参数对供销双方利润的影响,继而给出了两种期权契约的适用范围以及供销双方的契约选择偏好。在此基础上,本文还给出了不同期权契约下,供销双方各自利润均不低于其自身保留利润时契约参数的取值范围,并证明了两种期权契约均可有效提高销售商的利润水平。最后,本文通过算例对上述结论进行了验证。     

The effect of supplier capacity on the supply chain profit

In this paper, we study the role of capacity on the efficiency of a two-tier supply chain with two suppliers (leaders, first tier) and one retailer (follower, second tier). The suppliers compete via pricing (Bertrand competition) and, as one would expect in practice, are faced with production capacity. We consider a model with differentiated substitutable products where the suppliers are symmetric differing only by their production capacity. We characterize the prices, production amounts and profits in three cases: (1) the suppliers compete in a decentralized Nash equilibrium game, (2) the suppliers “cooperate” to optimize the total suppliers’ profit, and (3) the two tiers of the supply chain are centrally coordinated. We show that in a decentralized setting, the supplier with a lower capacity may benefit from restricting her capacity even when additional capacity is available at no cost. We also show that the loss of total profit due to decentralization cannot exceed 25 % of the centralized chain profits. Nevertheless, the loss of total profit is not a monotonic function of the “degree of asymmetry” of the suppliers’ capacities. Furthermore, we provide an upper bound on the supplier profit loss at equilibrium (compared with the cooperation setting) that depends on the “market power” of the suppliers as well as their market size. We show that there is less supplier profit loss as the asymmetry (in terms of their capacities) increases between the two suppliers. The worst case arises when the two suppliers are completely symmetric.     

Price markdown scheme in a multi-echelon supply chain in a high-tech industry

This paper studies the price markdown scheme in a supply chain that consists of a supplier, a contract manufacturer (CM), and a buyer (retailer). The buyer subcontracts the production of the final product to the CM. The CM buys the components from the supplier and charges the buyer a service fee for the final product produced. The price markdown is made possible by the supplier with the development of new manufacturing technologies that reduce the production cost for the sourced component. Consequently, the buyer adjusts the retail price in order to possibly stimulate stronger demand that may benefit both the supplier and the buyer. Under this scenario, we identify the optimal discount pricing strategies, capacity reservation, and the stocking policies for the supplier and the buyer. We also investigate the optimal inventory decision for the CM to cope with the price discount by considering both demand and delivery uncertainties. Our results suggest that higher production cost accelerates the effects of higher price sensitivity on lowering the optimal capacity and stocking policies in the supply chain. The effect of mean demand error on the optimal prices is relatively marginal compared with that from price sensitivity. We also found that increasing the standard deviation of the random demand does not necessarily increase the stocking level as one would predict. The results show that delivery uncertainty plays an important role in the inventory carried beyond the price break. We discuss potential extensions for future research.     

供需不确定条件下考虑双边努力的供应链组合契约设计

本文研究供需同时不确定条件下考虑双边努力的供应链契约设计问题,在一个供应商和一个零售商组成的二级供应链系统中,供应商的努力影响产量的不确定性,零售商的努力影响市场需求的不确定性。首先,利用Stackerberg主从博弈模型计算了分散决策时零售商、供应商的最优期望利润,并将计算结果与集中决策时供应链整体的最优期望利润进行对比。由于双重边际效应的存在,分散决策时供应链的最优期望利润小于集中决策时供应链的最优期望利润。基于此,本文设计了回购和成本分担组合契约来协调该供应链,计算了回购价格和成本分担系数的表达式,得到了回购和成本分担契约下供应商和零售商的最优期望利润。结果表明,在特定条件下,该组合契约不仅可以协调供应链,还可以实现供应链利润的任意分配。最后,通过数值计算,分析了供需双方的决策变量和期望利润随契约参数的变化情况。