Credit-dependent demand in a vendor-buyer model with a two-level delay-in-payments contract under a consignment-stock policy agreement

Abstract

A consignment stock (CS) policy is a promising supply chain coordination mechanism. Delay-in-payments is a financing arrangement that facilitates purchases and increases sales by postposing a payment to some future time. It lowers costs and increases profitability, somewhat like what CS does. A study in the literature shows that combing the two reaps more benefits by considering different lot sizing and payment scenarios. Buy now, pay later, technically delay-in-payments, is a business practice for increasing sales. This paper revisits that work by assuming demand increases with the length of the delay period. This increases sales and, subsequently, profits beyond what that study reports.