Manufacturer's Price Research Articles

Blockchain adoption and gray markets in a global supply chain

Manufacturers have been troubled by gray markets for a long time in global supply chains. The development of blockchain technology elicits a new idea to tackle the gray market issue. This paper investigates two-way impacts of gray markets and blockchain adoption in a global supply chain. We also construct Stackelberg games to explore equilibrium strategies of the manufacturer and the gray marketer under different power structures. We find that: (i) no matter whether blockchain is adopted, the gray marketer's entry can induce a lower/higher retail price for the manufacturer in the domestic/foreign market. This reflects that blockchain adoption cannot alter the impacts of the gray market on the manufacturer's pricing decisions. (ii) The manufacturer's blockchain adoption can either promote or prevent the gray marketer's entry, depending on the manufacturer's extra cost in the foreign market and the real product quality. Moreover, the authorized channel can benefit from the manufacturer's blockchain adoption even if it promotes the gray marketer's entry. (iii) When the manufacturer is the first-mover in the game, it will adopt blockchain if the real product quality is high in equilibrium. If the manufacturer loses its first-mover advantage, it is interesting that when the real product quality becomes lower, the manufacturer may still adopt blockchain. Finally, we demonstrate the robustness of our main results by incorporating the impact of the gray market on the domestic market and the marginal cost of blockchain adoption. We further find that the gray marketer's entry may promote consumer surplus in the foreign market.

Coordination of dual-channel supply chains with uncertain demand information

AbstractUncertain demand information increases the difficulty of decision-making in supply chains, especially in the light of inventory costs. This article researches a two-echelon dual-channel fresh agricultural product (FAP) supply chain, and discusses optimal decision-making and the value of information sharing using the Stackelberg game. To eliminate the double marginalization effect between supply chain parties, a two-part linear tariff contract is introduced for coordination. The results show that information sharing is always profitable for the manufacturer, but not for the retailer. The inventory and shortage costs will reduce the manufacturer's optimal pricing and fresh-keeping effort level. When the manufacturer overestimates the market demand predicted by the retailer, asymmetric information will increase the manufacturer’s inventory. The results provide important managerial implications for effective supply chain management.

Recycling model of low‐carbon and closed‐loop supply chain considering government subsidies

AbstractTo find the manufacturer's optimal recycling mode under the dual factors of government subsidies and consumers' low‐carbon preference, we construct three game models by taking the wholesale price, retail price, recovery rate, and carbon emission reduction level as the decision variables. Then, Stackelberg Game and Mathematica 12.0 are used to work out the equilibrium strategies of the recovery model, then we reveal the impact of government subsidies and consumers' low‐carbon preference on the closed‐loop supply chain. (1) Entrusting retailers to recycle is the best choice. (2) The government subsidy to the manufacturer and retailer within a certain range is conducive to promoting recycling activities and has a positive impact on the manufacturer's cost savings and carbon emission reduction investment. Nevertheless, the effect of subsidizing the third party is not obvious. (3) Cultivating consumers' low‐carbon preference for low‐carbon/remanufactured products can not only directly promote the overall profit of the closed‐loop supply chain, but also increase the rate of recovery and level of carbon emission reduction. Thus, the government should increase the subsidized prices of manufacturers and retailers and there is no need to subsidize third parties. It is necessary to cultivate consumers' low‐carbon preference, which is conducive to promoting manufacturers' carbon emission reduction activities.

An Investment and Loan Financing Decision Equilibrium in Supply Chain

A financing model for bank loan financing, equity financing, and portfolio financing under the manufacturer's capital constraints is constructed, and the manufacturer's capital level and consumers are discussed in green preference on pricing, green input level, market demand for products, and selection strategies of financing methods. Finally, it is verified by numerical analysis. Consumers' green preference is positively correlated with retail prices, wholesale prices and the level of green investment efforts, market demand for products, and equity transfer ratios acceptable to both parties in equity financing; when the manufacturer's capital constraints are not financing, the manufacturer's initial capital level is positively correlated with manufacturer's wholesale price, and retailer's retail price are negatively correlated, but it is positively correlated with the level of green investment efforts; the greater the bank loan interest rate, the larger the manufacturer's acceptable share transfer ratio.

Study on the complexity of channel pricing game in showrooming O2O supply chain

An O2O supply chain consisting of a manufacturer with an online direct channel and a retailer who resells through a brick-and-mortar store is considered. Three channel power structures (vertical Nash, manufacturer Stackelberg, and retailer Stackelberg) and three pricing sequences (simultaneous pricing, manufacturer pricing early, retailer pricing early) are considered. Counter-intuitively, under the manufacturer Stackelberg structure, the retailer has a first-mover advantage and retailer-pricing-early achieves Pareto optimality. In the other cases, the manufacturer and the retailer have a late-mover advantage. Under the vertical Nash structure, both parties may get into a prisoner’s dilemma. Extending the basic model to dynamic pricing, we found that the first mover of sequential pricing has better stability. The retailer Stackelberg structure has better stability than the vertical Nash structure and the manufacturer Stackelberg is the most unstable power structure. To avoid the negative impact of equilibrium price instability, the vertical and horizontal price matching mechanisms are proposed and the effectiveness in improving stability is proved.

Indication-wide drug pricing: Insights from the pharma market

BackgroundPharmaceutical spending has been increasing rapidly for years and is higher than ever before. To control the rising costs, countries are implementing regulatory frameworks such as (internal) reference pricing, price cuts or generics substitution. Internal reference pricing establishes a reference price within a country which serves as the maximum level of reimbursement for a group of pharmaceuticals. Price setting in the German market is especially relevant for many European countries, which use Germany as a reference country for their own price setting.MethodsWe evaluate pharmaceutical price dynamics for not reference priced pharmaceuticals (NRPs) as well as for reference priced pharmaceuticals (RPs) in Germany—referring to the internal reference price system. 64,862 medication packs have been extracted from the German pharmaceutical pricing register Lauer-Taxe. For each pack, we extracted detailed data on the company, manufacturer rebates, pharmacy retail prices, reference prices, co-payments, import quotas, and discount agreements. We then investigated price setting and dynamics of NRPs vs. RPs for all 14 indication areas by ATC code level 1.ResultsThe average manufacturer price per pack was 604.84€ for NRPs and 112.11€ for RPs. Similar differences were found for the wholesale price and the pharmacy retail price. The reference price was—as expected—0.00€ for NRPs, and 154.40€ for RPs. NRP packs were imported in 42.38%, while RP packs were imported only in 24.62%. Highest average pharmacy retail prices could be found in the therapeutic areas ‘antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents’ (1711.47€), ‘systemic hormonal preparations’ (1331.95€), and ‘blood and blood forming organs’ (1260.58€). We detected high fluctuations in pharmacy retail prices per indication, as well as for reference prices per indication. The indications with the highest number of reference price regulated medical packs are ‘cardiovascular system’, ‘musculo-skeletal system’, and ‘nervous system’. Highest co-payments were found in the indications ‘antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents’, ‘blood and blood forming organs’, and ‘antiinfectives for systemic use’.ConclusionPrice setting and price dynamics vary substantially between NRP and RP medication packs. Further, we saw major differences across all indication areas as well as when comparing medication packs launched by top 20 pharma companies vs. the rest.

A Analysis of The Capture Result of Flat Panel Detector Design with Arduino-Based BPW34 Photodiode Sensor against mA and kV Settings

The exposure factor is the factor that determines the intensity and quality of X-rays received by the patient. Exposure factors that can be controlled are: tube voltage (kV), tube current (mA), irradiation time (second), and distance of the X-ray tube to the film (FFD). The purpose of this study was to capture X-rays at a relatively affordable manufacturing price and to obtain a difference in value from the detector's catch between dark and light by utilizing the response of the BPW34 photodiode sensor. The contribution of this study is that the system can display grayscale and numerical on an 8x8 pixel matrix using the Matrix Laboratory (MATLAB) Application. This study was able to convert images taken from analog data after taking measurements on X-rays. The measurements are carried out by 2 methods, there are range used was 32-63mA, with a tube voltage of 50 kV at an irradiation duration of 1 second and 50 - 70 kV, with a tube current of 40 mA and an irradiation duration of 1 second. From the measurement results, it shows that the Flat Panel Detector Design Tool after being compared with the Philips brand DR is able to respond to differences in dose and object thickness. The results of this study indicate that this tool can be used to capture X-rays so that the degree of blackness of the film can be known.

Agency selling or reselling? Channel selection of green products with consumer environmental awareness

ABSTRACT Motivated by the growing consumer interest in new energy vehicles, this paper studies a manufacturer's pricing and channel selection issues when selling green products to environmentally conscious consumers. Three channel structures are examined: (1) a single agency selling channel, (2) a single reselling channel, and (3) dual channels of agency selling and reselling. Agency selling refers to the case in which the manufacturer directly sells products to consumers on the platform by paying a fixed fee. Reselling refers to when the manufacturer wholesales products to the platform, which is then responsible for selling to end consumers. We find that an increase in consumers' green awareness has a positive impact on green technology levels, retail prices, and the profits of the manufacturer, platform, and retailer. When consumers' green awareness and the revenue-sharing rate are relatively low, the manufacturer will choose the single reselling channel, which is beneficial for both the manufacturer and retailer. When consumers' green awareness is moderate, the manufacturer will choose the hybrid channel in which the manufacturer and platform will reach a win-win situation. When consumers' green awareness is high, the dual channel is simultaneously beneficial for the manufacturer, platform, and retailer, which reveals that Pareto optimisation occurs.

Supply chain decisions and coordination in the presence of an imperfect spot market

This study considers a supply chain consisting of a commodity supplier and a final product manufacturer with uncertain demand. In addition to purchasing from the supplier through a forward contract, the manufacturer can adjust their inventory by trading the commodity in an online spot market after observing the actual demand. However, the spot market is imperfect in that transactions cannot be certainly realized and come with additional transaction costs. Furthermore, the spot price is volatile such that overly relying on the spot market is unwise. To investigate how the spot market affects the decisions and coordination in a supply chain, we develop a game-theoretical model incorporating spot trading. We derive the optimal ordering decision in a centralized supply chain, as well as the supplier's and manufacturer's equilibrium pricing and ordering decisions in a decentralized supply chain. The impact of the imperfect spot market on the optimal decisions and profits is analyzed. This study also demonstrates how the supply chain can be coordinated in the presence of an imperfect spot market. Finally, a numerical analysis is performed to examine the analytical results. Our results indicate that the spot market can generally improve the performance of the centralized supply chain and benefit the manufacturer in the decentralized one. However, it can be detrimental to the supplier. The supply chain can be coordinated by a revenue-sharing contract, and both parties' profits can be improved. Our findings suggest that the manufacturer could take advantage of the spot market, and the supplier should attempt to integrate or coordinate the supply chain to share the benefits of spot trading.

Decision analysis and coordination of dual supply chain with retailer's offline return service and online reviews

Based on the centralized and decentralized decision‐making cases, this study constructs a dual‐channel supply chain game model that considers offline return service and online reviews, and explores the pricing decisions and benefits of supply chains under the dual influence of return service level and online reviews. The impact of return rate, return service level and perceived quality of online reviews on optimal supply chain decisions and profits are further analyzed. Finally, considering the phenomenon of double marginalization in the supply chain, this study coordinates the supply chain based on the benefit‐sharing contract coordination model to achieve Pareto improvement. The research shows that: The manufacturer's optimal wholesale price, the optimal online selling price and the retailer's optimal offline price are positively correlated with the perceived quality of online reviews and the level of return service. Compared with the return service level, the perceived quality of online reviews has a greater impact on the overall profit of the supply chain. Under the dual influence of the perceived quality of online reviews and the level of return service, the supply chain profit in the centralized model is better than that in the decentralized model. The coordination model can effectively coordinate the supply chain. Moreover, when the sharing ratio of manufacturers is obviously lower than that of retailers, the coordination effect is better at this time.

Reduction in Medicaid Rebates Paid by Pharmaceutical Manufacturers for Outpatient Infused, Injected, Implanted, Inhaled, or Instilled Drugs: The 5i Loophole.

When nonretail pharmacy sales exceed 70% of sales, manufacturers of infused, injected, implanted, inhaled, or instilled (5i) drugs are required to calculate average manufacturer price (AMP) under a different methodology than that used for drugs predominantly distributed through retail channels. Specifically, the modified methodology includes pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) rebates in the calculation of AMP for 5i drugs. The modified methodology reduces manufacturers' Medicaid rebate liability and increases net costs to the Medicaid program. The authors identified 15 5i drugs predominantly dispensed through the nonretail setting. Using 2013-2017 data from Medicaid, Medicare, SSR Health, and 340B program eligibility, they estimated differences in AMP, Medicaid rebates, and net Medicaid costs under both the standard and 5i AMP methodologies. AMP was 42% lower, on average, under the 5i methodology than under the standard methodology. From 2013-2017, Medicaid rebates under the 5i methodology were 82% lower than under the standard methodology, resulting in manufacturers of these 15 drugs reducing their Medicaid rebate liability by $1.1 billion in five years. Inclusion of PBM rebates in the calculation of AMP for 5i drugs significantly reduced Medicaid rebates, resulting in higher Medicaid spending. This may incentivize manufacturers to shift sales to nonretail channels. To remove this incentive, policy makers should consider excluding PBM rebates from the calculation of AMP for 5i drugs.

Raising funds through crowdfunding for a capital-constrained servicing manufacturer

Servitization (service-oriented manufacturing) is an emerging business model under which a manufacturer offers services derived from physical goods. A servicing manufacturer is more likely to be capital-constrained, as its revenue is monetized over a long period of time. Therefore, we explore how a capital-constrained servicing manufacturer raises funds through crowdfunding. We construct a game-theoretical model to capture the optimal decisions (quality and price) of a servicing manufacturer facing two types of customers. In our paper, the endogenous quality level is derived by tailoring the service to consumers’ needs. According to the posted quality level, customers determine their optimal usage of the service, which impacts the target of crowdfunding. We find that when both types of customers share the same product in crowdfunding, a higher proportion of high-end customers will lead to a lower quality level determined by the manufacturer. In addition, the servicing manufacturer also optimizes price decisions to induce high-type customers to make a contribution to the success of crowdfunding. These results underscore the influence of the crowdfunding mechanism on the servicing manufacturer’s decisions. However, offering a product line lets no one sacrifice interests for the success of crowdfunding. Both the manufacturer and customers obtain the highest benefits because servitization enables the manufacturer to provide customers with customized services. We argue that servitization improves the performance of crowdfunding by allowing the manufacturer to optimize operational decisions.

TENG estimation model of voltage production for buoys using particle swarm optimization

Oceanic surface buoys are known to have energetic demands for long-term stays at sea. Currently, batteries and solar panels have been use to cope with this need. Nonetheless, they are prone to damage and need replacement. Moreover, solar panels only function with sunlight, thus reducing their reach to some regions. Triboelectric nano-generators (TENG) are energy harvesting devices, capable of converting mechanical energy into electricity, by triboelectric effect and electrostatic induction. Their high efficiency, low manufacturing price and high power density make it ideal for wave energy conversion. In this paper, based on laboratory results obtained for a TENG model on a navigational buoy, a voltage production estimation model was generated using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), which can be fed with Boundary Element Method (BEM) simulations as input. The conclusion stated that PSO is a reliable methodology allowing for a quick estimation of voltage output for a given geographical region. It also becomes clear that coupling with existing BEM software is capable.

Continuous cycling of carbon-based capacitive deionization systems: An evaluation of the electrode performance and stability

• Electrode pore size distribution and apparent morphology are immune to oxidation. • Electrode oxidation will increase oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface. • Slight oxidation helps to improve the desalination performance of the electrode. • The degree of oxidation of the carbon electrode corresponds to the number of cycles. • Electrode oxidation evaluation system is of great significance to CDI technology. Activated carbon is widely used as the electrode in capacitive deionization technology (CDI), because of its simple manufacturing and low price. However, the evaluation system of carbon electrode oxidation degree and running time is lacking in existing studies, and the reasons for the changes caused by carbon electrode oxidation are not in-depth enough and limits its application. In this study, polyvinylidene fluoride/activated carbon (PVDF/ACP) composite electrode was prepared through coating. Electrode characterization and electrochemical testing were used to characterize PVDF/ACP anode after long-term circulation in NaCl solution. It was found that the pore size distribution and apparent morphology of the electrode were immune to the influence of carbon electrode oxidation, but the acidic functional groups on the electrode surface increased significantly and the electrochemical properties changed. Combined with the CDI desalination experiment, the relationship between oxidation degree and cycle number was revealed. The results show that the electrode with 0 ∼ 20 cycles is relatively stable and its performance is slightly improved. A small amount of oxygen-containing functional groups contributes to the electrode performance. The performance of the electrode with 20 ∼ 40 cycles to deteriorate suddenly, and a large number of oxygen-containings functional groups will affect the equilibrium potential and ion transports of electrode. The electrode performance degrades slowly after 40 ∼ 80 cycles. After 80 cycles, the electrode performance remained unchanged and the carbon electrode reached the oxidation threshold.

Designing Long-Lasting Products: Barriers for Design Consultancies

AbstractPast research shows there are significant barriers for creating long lasting products. In this paper we examine, the distinct collaborative barriers design consultancies face when striving to design long-lasting products for client firms. Data is collected through case studies (four months of observations and interviews) from three projects. Through the study we find indications, that the value chain intricacies, provide distinct interfirm barriers for creating long lasting products. These barriers include vision clashes, misalignment in the aspired manufacturing quality and price position.

Vehicles manufacturer's pricing strategies considering service level of car-sharing modes

Vehicles manufacturer's pricing strategies considering service level of car-sharing modes

Pricing and assembly rate decisions for a prefabricated construction supply chain under subsidy policies.

Prefabricated construction has attracted worldwide concern and promotion due to its environmental friendliness, high quality, and high efficiency. In China, the application of prefabricated construction still lags due to its high cost. To improve prefabricated construction development, the Chinese government and provinces have launched subsidy policies for different objects that offer subsidies to the assembler, the manufacturer, or consumers. Subsidy policies for different subsidy objects have different impacts on the manufacturer wholesale price and assembler retail price and assembly rate and make their decisions more complicated. Therefore, this study uses game theory and builds three models to analyze the effects of government subsidies on manufacturer pricing, assembler pricing, assembly rate decisions, and profit. We find that government subsidy policies can bring more profit to prefabricated construction enterprises, reduce their costs, and benefit the promotion of prefabricated construction. Through comparison and numerical analysis, we also find that when the government subsidizes enterprises more, it is better to subsidize the assembler, because it is good for all three parties. First, consumers can obtain a lower retail price. Second, enterprises can obtain more profits. Finally, for the government, this approach can increase the demand for prefabricated construction and increase the assembly rate, which is conducive to the promotion of prefabricated construction. When the government subsidizes customers more, it is better for the assembler and the manufacturer to subsidize customers, because they can obtain more profits. It is better for the government and customers to subsidize the assembler or the manufacture, because consumers can get the lower retail price. Although the assembly rate and enterprises’ profits are not optimal, they have also been improved. In addition, when the government directly subsidizes enterprises, the enterprises will actively cooperate with the subsidy policy and are more willing to adopt prefabricated construction. This approach will benefit the promotion of prefabricated construction.

Low-carbon strategies in dual-channel supply chain under risk aversion.

In a low-carbon supply chain (LCSC) constructed by a single manufacturer and a single retailer, three decision-making models are established by introducing channel preference attributes. That is, a single sales channel model, an online and offline dual channel model, and a dual channel model in which the manufacturer share revenue with her retailer. Using the mean variance (MV) method to characterize the risk aversion utility function of the manufacturer and the retailer, the following r are found. i) Consumers' preference for low-carbon products is conducive to raising the price of low-carbon products and the firms' profits. ii) The deepening of the retailer's risk aversion promotes the increase of the manufacturer's price, while the impact of the manufacturer's risk aversion has an opposite effects. Although the arbitrage behavior of the retailer can not be completely avoided in the risk aversion environment. However in a limited risk aversion environment, dual-channel development is conducive to increasing the profits of the manufacturer, but may harm the interests of the retailer. iii) Consumers' preference for online channel helps the manufacturer increase prices and profit. iv) The sharing of revenue by the manufacturer to the retailer is conducive to increasing the revenue of the retailer. Based on this, in order to improve corporate profits and promote long-term transactions, the manufacturer can carry out low-carbon promotion and implement a dual-channel strategy. The retailer can actively seek channel cooperation with the manufacturer.

Research on manufacturer's dual-channel pricing strategy based on power structure

Research on manufacturer's dual-channel pricing strategy based on power structure

Research on manufacturer's dual-channel pricing strategy based on power structure

Research on manufacturer's dual-channel pricing strategy based on power structure