Potentially self-defeating: Group buying in a two-tier supply chain

Retailers have an incentive to cooperate in the form of group buying (GB) when a supplier provides quantity discounts, because wholesale price under GB depends on total purchasing quantity rather than individual purchasing (IP) quantity. Most previous studies on GB focus on the benefits that buyers get but ignore the supplier׳s response to GB. In this paper, we take the supplier׳s response into consideration, and present a game model with a single supplier and two symmetric competing retailers in two systems: the retailers purchase individually, and the retailers group buy. Under a general quantity discount schedule, each system has a unique sub-game perfect equilibrium. The comparison between IP and GB suggests that GB may sabotage the benefits of all members in the supply chain (i.e., the supplier, the retailers, and the consumer). Retailers may hold contradictory attitudes toward GB before and after the publishing of the discount schedule. These insights are shown to be robust for the case when more than two retailers are involved, as well as the case when the supplier enjoys economies of scale based on the order volume. We suggest that a mixed discount schedule may help prevent the potential damage of GB. In addition, with significant economies of scale, the supplier and retailers may be better off under GB. Then GB can be a favorable purchasing strategy.     

广义ATO下基于多种团购模型的供应链协调

针对由多个供应商、单个制造商和零售商所组成的广义按订单装配式供应链，在上游多个供应商不确定的零部件（或商品）供应以及下游客户不确定的需求的环境下，首先分析基本模型中团购前后的零售商和制造商的利润变化，然后提出了团购的标准模型和协调模型，并比较三种不同的团购模型对各成员以及全局供应链绩效的影响。通过数学推导证明和仿真数据算例分析，结果表明：零售商自发的团购基本模型总是对制造商有利，而对零售商的好处是有限的；由制造商主导的团购标准模型在满足一定条件时是优于团购基本模型的，但有使得零售商甚至制造商自身受到损失的可能；而集中决策下的团购协调模型能够提升全局供应链的期望利润，实现渠道的帕累托改善，但协调的效果会受到团购客户组成结构的限制。     

考虑消费者细分的网购拼单机制研究

本文提供理论模型分析网购拼单机制分别给销售者和消费者带来的影响，为销售者（消费者）的抉择提供参考。研究结果显示，当拼单价格和正常价格均很低时，销售者（消费者）无动机实施（参与）拼单机制。但随着正常价格的提高，拼单机制的营利能力（消费者剩余）会不断增大，进而激励销售者（消费者）实施（参与）拼单机制，并有会将低估价类型消费者驱逐出市场。这一结果从另一个方面反映了拼单机制的最终目标不是为了迎合低估价类型的消费者，而是为了吸引高估价类型的消费者参与交易。进一步地，在拼单机制有效实施的情形下，最优拼单数量、最优期望收益均与两种类型消费者估值比例密切相关。所以，在实施拼单机制过程中，应该有意识地对消费者进行细分，并挖掘不同类型消费者的私人信息，从而制定有效的拼单策略。     

网络外部性对双渠道供应链信息分享的影响

研究了网络外部性对双渠道供应链信息分享的影响。分别建立了存在网络外部性和不存在网络外部性下的双渠道供应链模型,通过比较零售商信息分享和不分享下其与制造商的期望利润。研究发现：当未考虑产品的网络外部性时,零售商不与制造商分享其市场需求信息,与已有研究一致。当考虑了产品网络外部性且网络外部性较小时,零售商仍不与制造商分享市场需求信息;然而,当网络外部性较大时,零售商与制造商分享其市场需求信息。此外,零售商与制造商共享其市场需求信息有助于增加制造商和供应链利润。     

A Note on Optimal Selling to Asymmetric Retailers

I consider a channel with one manufacturer selling the same product to two retailers engaged in imperfect competition. The retailers are asymmetric because one has a lower marginal selling cost (or a higher demand potential) than the other. I design the manufacturer's optimal selling mechanism, whereby the manufacturer must offer the same contract options to both retailers. I fully characterize the manufacturer's optimal selling mechanism for varying degrees of retailer asymmetry and competition intensity. I find that under certain conditions, the manufacturer is better off selling a larger quantity through the high‐cost (or low‐demand potential) retailer. I also show how the optimal mechanism can be implemented using a menu of two‐part tariffs with quantity controls.     

Demand uncertainty and manufacturer returns policies for style-good retailing competition

This paper investigates the role of the returns policy in the co-ordination of supply chain: A manufacturer provides a return policy for unsold goods to two competing retailers who face uncertain demand. The problem is described with a game theory structure: The manufacturer, as the Stackelberg leader, first commits a returns price to the retailers under a given wholesale price. Upon receiving this information, two competing retailers, as followers, make decisions for their retail price and order size, in which the process of pricing and ordering is played as Nash equilibrium. Anticipated the retailers’ responses, the manufacturer designs his returns policy. Adopting the classic newsboy problem model framework and using numerical study methods, the study finds that the provision of a returns policy is dependent on the market conditions faced by the retailers. The paper also analyses the impact of demand variability on the decisions of optimal retail price and order quantity and profit reallocation between the manufacturer and the retailers. Finally, it investigates how the competing factor influences the decision-making of supply chain members in response to uncertain demand and profit variability.     

联合促销下双渠道VMI供应链的竞争与协调

本文在双渠道VMI供应链中,假设制造商和零售商分别处于领导者和追随者的地位,考虑了制造商通过联合促销协调供应链上下游的策略以及双渠道需求之间的搭便车效应,以此为背景建立了制造商和零售商之间的Stackelberg博弈模型,并通过拉格朗日乘数法求解出了制造商的最优发货策略和零售商的最优定价与促销策略。研究发现制造商开辟网上渠道直销产品后,零售商缺货时间比例增大。进一步研究发现,制造商承担促销成本的比例,双渠道之间的搭便车效应对供应链成员的决策和利润有显著影响。另外,双渠道的需求越不稳定,则制造商开辟网上销售渠道后获利越高,同时零售商的利润越低。最后,通过算例验证了模型的有效性并对模型中主要参数进行了灵敏度分析。     

Impacts of demand uncertainty on retailer's dominance and manufacturer-retailer supply chain cooperation

Recent studies in marketing and distribution channels have shown that the balance of power between manufacturers and retailers is shifting. Based on this observation, we investigate a two-echelon supply chain with a manufacturer and a retailer in this paper. We first develop retailer-dominant non-cooperative game models by introducing a sensitivity of retailer's order quantity to manufacturer's wholesale price; then we analyze two cooperative scenarios, in which the Nash bargaining model is utilized to implement profit sharing between the manufacturer and the retailer. Under the assumption that the manufacturer and the retailer are risk-neutral, we find that the manufacturer and the retailer can bargain to cooperate at any level of retail-market demand uncertainty with exogenous retail price. However, the cooperation is conditional on retail-market demand uncertainty with endogenous retail price: it can be implemented if the fluctuation of retail-market demand is relatively small, and the measure of retail-market demand uncertainty does not exceed an upper bound. Theoretical and numerical analyses show that the retailer's dominance over the manufacturer increases with the increase in the sensitivity of retailer's order quantity to manufacturer's wholesale price under a limitation of retail-market demand uncertainty. Numerical analyses also show that the retailer's dominance decreases with the increase in retail-market demand uncertainty.     

产品质量设计与供应链渠道优化——基于策略消费者行为的视角

策略消费者持币观望的行为对零售商和生产商的盈利都会产品负面影响，本文在二级供应链中同时考虑策略消费者的行为和产品质量设计，研究批发价格契约下策略消费者行为对供应链不同渠道利润的影响。分析表明，当生产商决定产品质量时，分散供应链下的产品质量与供应链上下游的议价能力相关，生产商议价能力越强，产品质量越高；当生产商完全掌握确定产品质量和批发价格的权利时，策略消费者的行为加剧了生产商和零售商之间利润分配的不公平，生产商能获得更大比例的利润；面对策略消费者时，厂商承诺产品数量有限能够实现比集中供应链下更高的利润，存在合适的产品质量和批发价格，使得分散供应链能实现数量承诺下的最优利润，并实现提升质量和增加供应链整体利润的双赢。     

Price competition,cost and demand disruptions and coordination of a supply chain with one manufacturer and two competing retailers

This paper studies the coordination of a supply chain with one manufacturer and two competing retailers after the production cost of the manufacturer was disrupted. We consider two coordination mechanisms: an all-unit quantity discount and an incremental quantity discount. For each mechanism, we develop the conditions under which the supply chain is coordinated and discuss how the cost disruption may affect the coordination mechanisms. For the all-unit quantity discount scheme, we find that the manufacturer charges the lower-cost retailer for a lower unit wholesale price in order to induce him to order more products. If the costs of two retailers have a remarkable difference, then the all-unit quantity discount scheme cannot coordinate the supply chain with disruptions. While the cost disruption may affect the wholesale prices, order quantities as well as retail prices, it is optimal for the supply chain to keep the original coordination mechanism if the production cost change is sufficiently small. The model is also extended to the case with both cost and demand disruptions. The equilibrium strategies of the retailers are investigated when the manufacturer cannot timely react to the disruptions such that she has to keep the original mechanism. We illustrate the results by numerical examples.     

两层级分散决策供应链库存转运问题研究

本文考虑一个由制造商及分散决策零售商构成的两层级供应链,研究了库存转运对供应链各方利润的影响。通过构建博弈模型并推导子博弈完美纳什均衡,确定了制造商及零售商的最优决策水平,并确定供应链各方在库存转运下利润提高和降低的条件。理论分析显示,制造商及零售商利润增减均由转运价格决定,转运价格阈值则受临界分位点水平影响。最后给出了零售商进行库存转运的供应链协调契约。     

Controlling Power Retailer's Gray Activities Through Contract Design

We develop a model that captures dynamic relationships of a supply chain populated by a dominant retailer and a number of fringe retailers. The two types of retailers are asymmetric in buying power, retailing cost, and the ability to service the manufacturer's product. The wholesale prices offered through a quantity discount (QD) schedule can coordinate such a supply chain, but invite channel flow diversion type of gray trading between the dominant retailer and the fringe retailers. Our analysis is focused on how such a channel can be coordinated and the gray market activities be prevented. We propose a dynamic QD contract or a revenue‐sharing contract that the manufacturer can use to fight the gray market activity. The performance of the supply chain and the manufacturer's profit under each of the two contract forms are compared and managerial guidelines are provided to help the manufacturer make a judicious choice.     

Group Buying,Buyer Heterogeneity,and Sellers' Bargaining Power*

Group buying enables collective bargaining opportunity that individual buyers lack to negotiate prices with sellers. This potential negotiation capability has two opposing effects. On the one hand, the prospect of the group being able to negotiate price with its rival forces each seller to lower its price offer, as too high a price will induce the group to give its rival an opportunity to undercut its price via negotiation, likely taking away all the buyers. On the other hand, the potential negotiation opportunity may also discourage sellers from competing aggressively in their price offers, as the benefit of charging a low price could be offset by competitors in negotiation, thus yielding overall higher prices for the buyers. In this study, we find that compared to individual purchase, buyers benefit from collective bargaining opportunity by group buying only if sellers’ bargaining power relative to the buyer group is low and/or buyers’ preferences toward the sellers are sufficiently differentiated. Given buyers’ strategic choice of group purchase, sellers may be worse off with a further increase in bargaining power, and so may social welfare.     

供应链中纵向信息获取和横向信息共享策略研究

研究由一个制造商和两个零售商组成的二级供应链中,零售商之间的横向信息共享策略和制造商的信息获取以及最优定价问题。在模型中,制造商同时为两家零售商提供等价商品,零售商向消费者销售商品且进行价格竞争。以Bertrand博弈为研究手段,求解了零售商的均衡销售价格、订货量决策和信息共享策略,制造商的最大利润和最优批发价格,以及供应链利润。分析比较了在制造商不同的信息获取策略下,零售商、制造商和供应链的利润。研究表明,零售商之间完全信息共享始终为占优策略。但制造商获取下游信息时会使得自身利润增加,零售商利润减少,因此零售商不会主动把信息共享给制造商。考虑到下游的边界均衡解,供应链的利润变化还与市场的不确定性和产品的替代性有关。当产品替代性较高或产品替代率较低且市场的不确定性处于中间水平时,制造商获取信息后供应链利润增加,此时制造商可以用部分增加的利润成功购买零售商信息。该模型为上游制造商提供了最优定价和信息获取策略,也为下游零售商提供了求解自身最优销售价格、订货量和信息共享决策的方法。     

拥有自有品牌零售商的平台开放策略研究

随着电子商务的快速发展，零售商之间竞争加剧，自有品牌战略成为零售商获取竞争优势的关键。研究拥有自有品牌零售商的平台开放策略，通过对比零售商不开放平台和开放平台下的均衡利润，给出零售商平台开放策略选择条件，并分析产品之间价格影响系数、固定成本和潜在需求差异系数对零售商平台开放策略选择的影响，最后结合数值分析和京东自有品牌的发展现状验证了本文的主要研究结论。研究发现：第一，随着固定成本的增加，佣金费率逐渐减少，随着潜在需求差异系数的增加，佣金费率逐渐增加；第二，当产品之间的价格影响系数较小（较大）时，平台开放（不开放）是零售商的最优选择；第三，当固定成本较小（较大）时，平台开放（不开放）是零售商的最优选择；第四，当潜在需求差异系数较小（较大）时，平台开放（不开放）是零售商的最优选择。     

考虑社交关系的网购拼单研究

本文提供理论模型对比分析拼单模式和统一价格模式(正常模式)给商家带来的影响，为商家实施精准营销提供参考。对此，首先考虑消费者的社交关系并以此将消费者进行细分，随后分析社交关系的成本系数(社交成本)和潜在市场需求对价格和收益的影响。结果指出，在一定条件下，拼单模式可以为商家带来了更大的收益，但是拼单模式只是正常模式的一种补充，并且随着两类消费者的社交成本差额逐渐变小或偏好拼单的消费者的潜在市场需求不断增加，拼单模式的优势逐渐减弱。因此，建议电商平台与微信等社交平台合作，降低消费者的社交成本，以吸引消费者通过拼单模式购买商品，从而实现“商家、平台和消费者” 多方共赢。最后建议，平台对消费者进行二次或三次细分，开发新的细分市场。     

不同权力结构和联盟策略下风险规避型闭环供应链决策

本文旨在探讨不同渠道权力结构和联盟策略下风险规避型闭环供应链的决策问题。考虑到产品需求和废旧产品回收的不确定性及决策者的风险规避特性,在制造商主导、零售商主导及制造商和零售商势力均衡三种情形下,分别构建了制造商和零售商联盟与不联盟时的闭环供应链博弈模型,获得了六个博弈模型下的均衡解,对比分析了不同模型下产品定价、废旧产品的最优回收价格和供应链及其成员的期望收益。研究结果表明,在制造商和零售商不联盟的情形下,决策者的风险规避程度增加能够缓解双重边际效应,供应链期望收益与风险规避程度正相关,而在制造商和零售商联盟的情形下,供应链期望收益与风险规避程度负相关;制造商和零售商不联盟时,制造商和零售商势力均衡的渠道权力结构对消费者最有利,而制造商和零售商联盟时,制造商和零售商势力均衡的渠道权力结构对消费者最不利;制造商和零售商权力结构不对等时最优价格决策之间的关系与制造商和零售商的风险规避程度有关;供应链期望收益在制造商和零售商势力均衡下最大,制造商期望收益在制造商主导的渠道权力结构下最大,零售商期望收益在零售商主导的渠道权力结构下最大。     

The Dynamics of Domestic Gray Markets and Its Impact on Supply Chains

Gray markets are created by unauthorized retailers selling manufacturer's branded products. Similar to international gray markets, domestic gray markets are a growing phenomenon whose impact on supply chains is not clear. We consider a supply chain with one manufacturer and several authorized retailers who face a newsvendor problem and a domestic gray market. While a gray market provides an opportunity for retailers to clear their excess inventory (inventory‐correction effect), it also can be a threat to their demand (demand‐cannibalization effect). We first characterize the emerging equilibrium by assuming an MSRP environment. Comparing a decentralized and centralized system, we show that a wholesale pricing contract is quite efficient in a gray market environment; we explain the underlying mechanism and note some of the operational decisions that could hurt that efficiency. We show that the gray market price determines the degree of both the negative effects of demand‐cannibalization and the positive effects of inventory correction, which in turn determines the net impact of gray markets on the retailer's stocking choice and, ultimately, the manufacturer's profit. We then study the authorized retailers' problem as a price‐setting newsvendor. We observe that the gray market creates price competition between the authorized and unauthorized retailers, causing a drop in the primary market price. However, this price competition can be counteracted by the authorized retailers' stocking decision. Finally, we extend our model to consider the cases where the demand can be correlated across retailers.     

Quick Response under Competition

We consider a manufacturer serving two competing retailers that sell their products over a single selling season. The retailers place their regular orders before the season starts. In addition to this initial order, quick response (QR) provides a retailer with an additional replenishment opportunity after demand uncertainty is resolved. The manufacturer determines the unit price for QR replenishment. We characterize the retailers’ ordering, and the manufacturer's pricing decisions in equilibrium when none, only one, and both of the retailers have QR ability. We study how the profitability of the manufacturer, the retailers, and the channel depend on QR and competition. We find it may be optimal for the manufacturer to offer QR to only one of the ex ante identical retailers when demand variability is sufficiently, but not overly high. The manufacturer may also find it optimal to offer QR to both or none of the retailers, depending on demand variability. Finally, while QR ability is always attractive for a retailer when competition is ignored, we find QR may prove detrimental when its impact on competition is taken into account.     

The Manufacturer's Incentive to Reduce Lead Times

Although, ceteris paribus, reducing lead times may be desirable from an overall system perspective, an upstream party (e.g., a manufacturer) may have strong disincentives to offer shorter lead times, even if this came at no cost. We consider a setting in which the downstream party has the ability to exert a costly effort to increase demand (e.g., through sales promotions, advertising, etc.) during the selling season, and compare two situations: one where there is zero lead time (i.e., all demand can be satisfied after observing the demand realization), and one where orders need to be made before demand is realized. We identify two interacting effects that may inhibit shorter lead times. A so‐called “safety stock effect” can be observed when a lower risk of stocking out under short lead times induces the downstream party to alter her order quantity. A second effect, termed as “effort effect,” arises if shorter lead times impact the downstream party's optimal sales effort, and, as a consequence, lead to different order quantities. We provide a formal characterization of both effects, insight into how these effects interact, and show under which conditions the manufacturer has an incentive to offer shorter lead times.