Empty container leasing and channel coordination in a Dual-Channel container transportation service chain based on joint contracts

Abstract

In this paper, we study the empty container leasing decision and coordination problem of dual-channel container transportation service chain (DCCTSC) under stochastic demand in the presence of financial constraints of the carrier. First, we introduce the advance payment financing mode to solve the capital constraint problem of the carrier and analyze the optimal empty container leasing strategies under decentralized and centralized modes respectively. Then, we design a joint contract with advance payment financing parameters to coordinate the DCCTSC and discuss the conditions for contract enforceability. Finally, we verify the validity of the proposed model and coordination mechanism as well as the effects of contract and financing parameters on the DCCTSC through numerical examples. The results of the study show that the joint contract can effectively coordinate the DCCTSC and increase the total system profit by 5.23 % at most. The combination of contract parameters is flexible, and the adjustment of contract and financing parameters only changes the profit distribution between members and does not affect the coordination of the overall system