Supply chain coordination using revenue-dependent revenue sharing contracts

A typical single period revenue sharing contract specifies a priori a fixed fraction for the supply chain revenue to be shared among the supply chain players. Over the years, supply chains, especially in the movie industry, have adopted multi-period revenue sharing contracts that specify one fraction for each contract period. These revenue sharing contracts are of revenue-independent type such that the revenue sharing fractions are independent of the quantum of revenue generated. Motivated by the recent events in Bollywood – one of the popular arms of the Indian movie industry – in this paper we develop and analyze a game theoretic model for revenue-dependent revenue sharing contracts wherein the actual proportion in which the supply chain revenue is shared among the players depends on the quantum of revenue generated. Our aim is to understand why revenue-dependent revenue sharing contracts are (or not) preferred over revenue-independent contracts. We also examine if supply chains can be coordinated over multiple periods using both types of revenue sharing contracts. We build a two-period model characterizing supply chains in the movie industry and highlight the implications of the multi-period contractual setting for the supply chain coordinating revenue sharing contracts. We show that supply chains can be perfectly coordinated using both types of revenue sharing contracts; however, there exist situations in which revenue-dependent contracts outperform revenue-independent contracts. Using revenue-dependent revenue sharing contracts supply chains can be coordinated while providing positive surplus to the supply chain players that is otherwise not possible under certain situations in revenue-independent contracts. We also demonstrate how revenue-dependent contracts enhance supply chain coordination and highlight their significance when the drop in the revenue potential from one period to another is moderate.     

A hybrid solution to collaborative decision-making in a decentralized supply-chain

This paper considers a decentralized supply chain, where multiple independent manufacturing facilities manage some capital-intensive equipments or resources shared among them. In particular, these manufacturing facilities operate somewhat in isolation to serve their own customers, but coordinate closely with each other to ensure the shared resources are effectively utilized. Such cross-facility capacity management problems are common in high-tech industries, they are typical examples of collaborative decision-making in supply chain integration, and are critical to create a competitive edge in a more interconnected business environment. In this paper, a hybrid algorithm that integrates Lagrangian relaxation and immunity-inspired coordination scheme, known as LR-ICI, is proposed and investigated by extensive numerical experiments, and is shown to be competitive compared to similar algorithms.     

Supply Chain Strategy,Product Characteristics,and Performance Impact: Evidence from Chinese Manufacturers*

Supply chain management has become one of the most popular approaches to enhance the global competitiveness of business corporations today. Firms must have clear strategic thinking in order to effectively organize such complicated activities, resources, communications, and processes. An emerging body of literature offers a framework that identifies three kinds of supply chain strategies: lean strategy, agile strategy, and lean/agile strategy based on in‐depth case studies. Extant research also suggests that supply chain strategies must be matched with product characteristics in order for firms to achieve better performance. This article investigates supply chain strategies and empirically tests the supply chain strategy model that posits lean, agile, and lean/agile approaches using data collected from 604 manufacturing firms in China. Cluster analyses of the data indicate that Chinese firms are adopting a variation of lean, agile, and lean/agile supply chain strategies identified in the western literature. However, the data reveal that some firms have a traditional strategy that does not emphasize either lean or agile principles. These firms perform worse than firms that have a strategy focused on lean, agile, or lean/agile supply chain. The strategies are examined with respect to product characteristics and financial and operational performance. The article makes significant contributions to the supply chain management literature by examining the supply chain strategies used by Chinese firms. In addition, this work empirically tests the applicability of supply chain strategy models that have not been rigorously tested empirically or in the fast‐growing Chinese economy.     

短生命周期产品供应链中供需双方合作的价值研究

本文研究了只有一个销售商和制造商构成的只有一个短生命周期产品的两层供应链系统,当市场需求和制造商履行订单的时间都是随机变化的,制造商可通过一定方法提前履行订单,建立了制造商与销售商合作与共享信息的一般模型,解析分析了信息共享的价值。解析分析和算例仿真表明,双方合作不但能增加供应链系统的利润,保持利润增加的稳定性,而且还能增加产品对市场的供给量。     

Collaboration and Coordination in Supply Chain Management and E‐Commerce

Research in Supply Chain Management and Electronic Commerce has grown dramatically in the past decade as firms have intensified efforts to streamline operations and improve service to a diverse and demanding customer base. Central to this theme is the need for firms to look outside of their organizations for opportunities to collaborate and coordinate with partners to ensure that the supply chain is both efficient and responsive to dynamic market needs. Such collaboration and coordination opportunities introduce new challenges and complexities as a result of increased problem scale and scope, and potentially conflicting incentives among different supply chain players. Motivated by these new challenges, this special issue explores a range of coordination and collaboration problems, stressing the role of information and associated technologies in facilitating and enabling supply chain integration.     

Coordinating a Supply Chain When Facing Strategic Consumers

This article examines the impact of strategic consumers on the efficiency and coordination of a supply chain. We consider a supply chain consisting of a manufacturer and a newsvendor retailer selling a seasonal product to strategic consumers, who may choose to wait for clearance sales to maximize their intertemporal utility. Under a prenegotiated supply contract, the retailer chooses retail price and ordering quantity simultaneously. After that, the strategic consumers, who may be heterogeneous in their patience levels, make purchasing decisions. We find that strategic consumer behavior can hurt the supply chain efficiency due to severe double marginalization, and that a simple buyback contract can coordinate the supply chain. Nevertheless, we show that the supply chain does become more difficult to coordinate when strategic consumers are present: the set of buyback contractual terms that coordinate the chain shrinks as consumers are more willing to wait, and the chain profit cannot be arbitrarily allocated between the firms. Contrary to popular intuition, this result implies that the retailer may enjoy some benefit from consumers' strategic waiting. In addition, we find that the retailer's gain is the highest when impatient and patient consumers are comparably mixed in the population.      

公平偏好对横纵向供应链定价及其绩效的影响

本文分别在纵向供应链与横向供应链中，研究了供应链成员具有公平偏好时的定价决策及其绩效表现。研究结果表明：在纵向供应链中，供应商或零售商具有公平偏好并进行Stackelberg博弈，批发价格契约能够满足供应商或零售商的公平偏好，此时整个供应链的利润最优，效率最高；在横向供应链中，处于相同供应链层级的制造商具有公平偏好并进行Cournot博弈，批发价格契约不能满足其公平偏好，但整个供应链的利润与绩效显著高于完全理性时的供应链利润与绩效。最后进行算例分析，并给出一些管理意义。     

零售商的资金约束对协调契约的影响分析

在零售商促销下,探讨了零售商的资金约束对使用收益共享契约和回购契约协调供应链的影响。分析了零售商拥有不同运营资金下供应链的契约协调问题,研究表明：在运营资金相对充裕下,收益共享契约不仅能协调供应链,且能实现渠道收益的任意分配,但回购契约不能实现渠道收益的任意分配,除非运营资金非常充裕;在运营资金不足下,收益共享契约仍有可能协调供应链,但回购契约不能协调供应链。讨论了资金的时间价值对两个契约协调供应链的影响,结果表明：在回购契约下,资金利率越大,具有资金约束零售商的供应链被协调的可能性越大,但资金利率对收益共享契约没有影响。最后提供了数值分析。研究中得到一些管理启示,可为资金约束供应链的协调管理提供理论借鉴。     

Coordinating contracts for a financially constrained supply chain

We consider a financially constrained supply chain in which a supplier (leader) sells products to a retailer (follower) who has no access to bank financing due to her low credit rating. However, the supplier can borrow from a bank and offer trade credit to the retailer to alleviate her financial constraint. Failure to pay off a bank loan or trade credit incurs a variable default cost. We analyze the centralized version of the supply chain to obtain new coordination requirements. We then examine whether revenue-sharing, buyback, and all-unit quantity discount contracts can coordinate our supply chain. We show that the all-unit quantity discount contract fails to coordinate. However, the revenue-sharing and buyback contracts can coordinate the supply chain, but only when the supply chain has a sufficient total working capital. Moreover, they cannot allocate profit flexibly unless the supplier has a large enough working capital. Finally, we design a generalized revenue-sharing contract that coordinates the supply chain with flexible profit allocation, and also show by numerical examples its superiority over the revenue-sharing and buyback contracts.     

伴随销售商促销努力的供应链契约设计

在大多数供应链契约文献中,市场需求被假设为了一个独立的外生随机变量.但实际情况中,市场需求往往受到销售商各种促销活动的影响.文中首先分析了在市场需求受促销活动影响情况下的集中控制模式及不合作模式的销售商最优促销努力水平和最优订购数量的决策问题;然后设计了基于回购契约的促销成本分担契约协调机制;最后通过一个算例比较了在不采取任何促销活动、不合作情况下销售商单方进行促销活动以及协调机制下销售商进行促销活动三种策略下的供应链绩效水平.     

Supporting collaboration in humanitarian supply chains – insights from a design science project

Abstract

The growing number of large-scale relief operations and humanitarian aid initiatives is stretching the resources – financial, material and human – of humanitarian actors to their limits. Challenges to collaborate both within international humanitarian organizations, and among their direct and indirect supply chain partners often contribute to the inefficient use of resources, or ineffective operations. In this research, we discuss collaboration in humanitarian supply chains, and analyze causes of their dysfunctional operations. Furthermore, we develop an experiential learning approach that can sensitize humanitarian supply chain actors to causes of information distortion. The simulation approach was implemented in the field and instructional design cycles yielded insights into how staff apply their learnings under the specific conditions of humanitarian relief work.     

Competition and Coordination in a Two‐Channel Supply Chain

We study competition and coordination in a supply chain in which a single supplier both operates a direct channel and sells its product through multiple differentiated retailers. We study analytically the supply chain with symmetric retailers and find that the supplier prefers to have as many retailers as possible in the market, even if the retailers' equilibrium retail price is lower than that of the supplier, and even if the number of retailers and their cost or market advantage prevent sales through the direct channel. We find that the two‐channel supply chain may be subject to inefficiencies not present in the single‐channel supply chain. We show that several contracts known to coordinate a single‐channel supply chain do not coordinate the two‐channel supply chain; thus we propose a linear quantity discount contract and demonstrate its ability to perfectly coordinate the two‐channel supply chain with symmetric retailers. We provide some analytical results for the supply chain with asymmetric retailers and propose an efficient solution approach for finding the equilibrium. We find numerically that the supplier still benefits from having more retailers in the market and that linear quantity discount contracts can mitigate supply chain inefficiency, though they no longer achieve perfect coordination.     

需求和零售商购买成本同时扰动的供应链应急协调

供应链的契约协调机制是供应链管理的重要内容,突发事件下的供应链协调机制是近年来的研究热点。 研究了在单制造商单零售商组成的供应链中,假设生产成本是其生产数量的凸函数下,当市场需求为零售价格的非线性函数,突发事件造成需求和零售商购买成本同时发生扰动时,集权、分权供应链应对突发事件的最优策略。 首先证明了稳定环境下的数量折扣契约可以实现该供应链的协调,在集权式决策下,供应链的原有生产计划对突发事件具有一定的鲁棒性,但是当突发事件造成的扰动超过一定幅度时,供应链的协调将会被打破,供应链系统必须改变生产计划才能实现其利润最大化。 在分权式决策下,供应链的原数量折扣契约不能使扰动后的供应链达到协调,因此,设计了新的数量折扣契约来使扰动后的供应链达到协调。最后给出一个算例验证了相关结论。     

Supply chain coordination with information design

We consider the coordination of a supplier–retailer supply chain where, in addition to classical contract considerations, a supplier decides the adoption of an information structure (IS) for the supply chain, with a higher-quality IS allowing the supply chain parties to obtain a more accurate demand forecast. Because a wholesale price contract cannot coordinate the supply chain due to misaligned incentives of supply chain parties, we explore what common coordinating contracts in the classical coordination literature can continue coordinating the supply chain with the IS adoption. Interestingly, our analysis appears to reveal the power of simplicity: some simple classical coordinating contracts (e.g., the buy-back and revenue-sharing contracts), though not designed with the IS consideration, still coordinate the supply chain, whereas other more complicated classical contracts (e.g., the quantity flexibility and sales rebate contracts) fail to do so. We derive a general condition for supply chain coordination and show that any contract with a newsvendor-like transfer payment can coordinate the supply chain.     

需求和生产成本同时扰动下供应链期权契约应对突发事件

本文研究了单一供应商和单一零售商组成的供应链在期权契约下的应急协调问题。首先证明了稳定条件下的期权契约能够实现该供应链的协调,当突发事件导致随机市场需求分布函数和制造商生产成本同时扰动时,在市场需求和生产成本变化满足一定条件下,供应链最优购买量不变,否则将会发生改变,此时协调被打破;通过调整期权契约能够实现对突发事件的协调应对。最后运用数值实验对模型进行了验证。     

Discount Pricing Policies and the Coordination of Decentralized Distribution Systems*

A challenge of supply chain management is to align the objectives, and hence coordinate the activities, of independent supply chain members. In this study, we approach this problem in a simple way by extending traditional quantity discounts that are based solely on buyers' individual order size to discount policies that are based on both buyers' individual order size and their annual volume. We show that discount policies are able to achieve nearly optimal system profit and, hence, provide effective coordination, for a decentralized two‐echelon distribution system, whereby a supplier sells a product to a group of heterogeneous and independent retailers each facing a downward‐sloping demand curve of its retail price. When buyers are heterogeneous, a critical issue of coordination is to motivate different customers to increase their demand and lot size according to their potential so as to improve profits. We show that market heterogeneity presents an effective discriminating factor for the supplier to segment customers in the design of a coordination mechanism.     

两零售商竞争下多因素同时扰动的供应链协调研究

本文研究了由一个制造商两个竞争零售商组成的供应链在百川德博弈下,生产成本、市场需求和价格敏感系数同时扰动的协调机制,考虑了线性数量折扣契约对供应链的协调作用。研究表明,当三因素同时发生扰动后, 集权式供应链中线性数量折扣契约可以协调供应链,而在分散式供应链中,原来的协调契约不具有鲁棒性,制造商只有采用新的线性数量折扣契约,分散式供应链才能实现协调。 最后用一个算例验证了结论。     

考虑保鲜努力与数量/质量弹性的农产品三级供应链协调优化

以供应具有季节性的农产品为研究对象,研究了由农户-第三方物流供应商（TPLP）-零售商组成的三级供应链协调问题。将农产品的数量和质量损耗均视为TPLP保鲜努力的内生变量,分别建立了分散与集中决策模式下的动态博弈模型。分析表明分散决策模式下供应链各成员的决策会导致产品销售量和销售价格扭曲,严重影响供应链绩效。针对三级供应链中的两个交易过程,并基于对系统中相关决策变量的变化及影响因素分析,分别设计了成本分担和收益共享协调契约,并论证了在一定条件下该组合协调机制可以显著扩大农产品的销售量,实现供应链各成员收益的帕累托改进。最后,通过算例验证了文章结论,并分析了努力水平对不同农产品质量和数量损耗的改善程度（数量/质量弹性）对农产品三级供应链决策及协调效果的影响。     

零售商退出风险的供应链冲击与协调契约分析

零售商退出会导致供应链合作关系的终止,冲击供应链合作运营的基础,供应链企业需要合作应对吗?本文以数量折扣契约下的协调供应链为研究框架,研究存在零售商退出风险时传统数量折扣契约的供应链运作,并构建改进契约下的供应链协调模型。通过理论推演与仿真分析发现,零售商退出风险对供应链运作可能造成巨大的冲击,同时也惊讶地发现,虽然数量折扣契约在冲击下不能协调运作,但运作效率非常高。建议契约调整成本不高的供应链可选择我们改进后的协调数量折扣契约。     

The Roles of Supply Chain Intelligence and Adaptability in New Product Launch Success

Many new product introductions continue to be unsuccessful, and while researchers have studied product development processes, relatively few studies directly address new product launch. We do so in the present research and posit that supply chain intelligence, defined as technological and competitive knowledge sourced and integrated from suppliers, customers, and competitors, plays an important role in explaining new product launch success. We further employ the knowledge‐based view to theorize that both supply chain adaptability and product innovation capability act as important mediators of the effects of supply chain intelligence on new product launch success and firm financial performance. While the former capability refers to a firm's ability to quickly adjust its supply chain to react to market and product design changes, the latter refers to the firm's proficiency in developing innovative new products. We test hypothesized relationships among these factors utilizing data collected in a survey of 229 U.S. manufacturing firms. Results point to the central role of supply chain adaptability in capturing the benefits of supplier technological intelligence for enhanced product innovation capability, new product launch success, and firm financial performance. In contrast, product innovation capability serves as the generative means by which customer and competitor intelligence is translated into more successful new product launches, which, in turn, produce superior firm financial performance. Overall, these findings contribute to a better understanding of factors that can explain why certain product launches are more successful than others, and offer practical insights for appropriate investments in the development of related knowledge resources.