Joint procurement and pricing of fresh produce for multiple retailers with a quantity discount contract

Abstract

This study considers a fresh produce supply chain consisting of one supplier and multiple retailers with a quantity discount contract in two scenarios—independent procurement and joint procurement. The supplier’s optimal pricing decision and the retailers’ optimal procurement decisions under the quantity discount contract are investigated. Furthermore, the impact of the deterioration rate on the profit of supply chains is examined. The results show that joint procurement is more profitable than independent procurement and guarantees a win-win outcome. More importantly, retailers will be motivated to form a grand coalition when the total profit can be rationally allocated among them.