Coordination of a supply chain with online platform considering delivery time decision

Abstract

This paper investigates the coordination problem of a supply chain consisting of a manufacturer and a retailer who sells products through an offline channel and an online platform. Platform power is considered to reflect the ability of the platform to enlarge the market share. We find that the supply chain can be coordinated via wholesale price and cost-sharing contracts when platform power is large, and even if platform power is small, the supply chain can still be coordinated via cost-sharing contract when delivery time sensitivity is relatively high. Most of the results are robust when the manufacturer joins the platform.