Supply Price Research Articles

Signaling or not? The pricing strategy under fairness concerns and cost information asymmetry

Supply chain fairness issues have become crucial and prevalent recently, whereas the operational decisions in the fair chain are more and more challenging when involving information asymmetry. Considering the fact that the upstream supplier of a chain generally has private production cost information, this paper investigates how the supplier strategically makes pricing decisions under the own private information and the downstream fairness concerns. Based on inequity aversion theory, we set up a signaling game between the supplier and the retailer with two kinds of inequity aversion, disadvantageous inequity aversion and advantageous inequity aversion, respectively. Compared with the scenario of symmetric information, under asymmetric information, we find that: the high-cost supplier distorts the wholesale price upward to avoid the low-cost supplier's price mimicry when the retailer has disadvantageous inequity aversion and the cost difference between the two types of suppliers is small; the supply chain's expected profit and expected utility may increase due to the reason that the low-cost supplier distorts his wholesale price downward when the retailer has advantageous inequity aversion, which mitigates the double marginalization. Moreover, we extend the base model to the scenario of endogenous prior probability on supplier cost type and we show that when the retailer has disadvantageous inequity aversion, cost information asymmetry may improve the willingness of the high-cost supplier to become the low-cost supplier. Our results can provide some practical insights on managing cost information asymmetry from the perspectives of the supply chain and the industry.

Research on accurate prediction of vegetable commodity pricing strategy and dynamic replenishment quantity based on optimization model

Based on the characteristics of timeliness, fast price change and easy loss, this paper deeply studies the automatic pricing and replenishment strategy of fresh suppliers, in order to maximize the profit of the supermarket. We propose and solve the number of related problems, and fit the linear and nonlinear models, and the results have limited effect. Therefore, this study translated the replenishment problem into sales volume prediction, using LSTM and predicting future sales by random forest model. At the same time, based on the periodicity of vegetable commodity sales, this study proposes the single product replenishment volume and pricing strategy. Finally, in view of the poor fitting effect of a single factor in this study, the improvement  method  of  collecting  data  from  multiple  dimensions  is  proposed  to  deeply  explore  the relationship  between  replenishment  and  pricing,  so  as  to  improve  the  accuracy  of  prediction   and supermarket revenue.

Impact of Energy Crises on Income Inequality: An Application of Piketty’s Hypothesis to Pakistan

In Pakistan, the majority of people have access to energy supplies. However, people who are underprivileged, below the extreme poverty line, or part of the middle class often spend disproportionate portions of their income on energy supplies and services, to some extent because of higher upfront prices for energy supplies, expensive products, and expensive imported appliances. The nonavailability of low-cost energy supplies is mainly affecting underdeveloped regions that have mostly low-income households. We used the dynamic ordinary least squares method to look at the impact of the energy crisis on income inequality from 1997 to 2021. The results show that the energy crisis exacerbates income inequality as low-income groups end up spending more significant shares of their income on energy products, supplies, and services than higher-income groups. Fair and equal access to energy supplies and services is less likely to reduce income inequality if prices are not cost-efficient. Cautious deliberation regarding the structure of energy tariffs is inevitable; at the same time, safety nets and social security programs for the poorest groups need to be expanded. At this stage, the aim is to target energy prices that will achieve the objectives of reducing polarity and increasing real income.

Assessing the impact of water scarcity on thermoelectric and hydroelectric potential and electricity price under climate change: Implications for future energy management

This study investigates the impact of water resource restrictions on thermoelectric and hydroelectric stations, analyzing its influence on demand and electricity prices. It uses General Circulation Models (GCMs) and Soil and Water Assessment Tools (SWAT) to forecast future temperature trends and estimate river flow patterns. The research provides insights into climate change's potential effects on water resources and electricity potential. The study shows a significant decrease in river flow, indicating potential issues with hydroelectric and thermoelectric systems. The study also uses an optimized Echo State Network (ESN) for accurate electricity demand, using the Modified Snow Leopard Optimization (MSLO) algorithm as a new metaheuristic model. The simulation results show a consistent increase in electricity demand scenarios, which is expected to lead to higher supply prices due to decreased production capacity. This could have significant economic effects. The investigation provides a comprehensive understanding of water resource management challenges in power production, aiding in informed decisions in the future energy industry.

The Impact of Multi-Currency System On Public Sector Procurement Performance in Zimbabwe

The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of multi-currency system on public sector procurement performance in Zimbabwe using evidence from government ministries of agriculture, defence and local government. In line with the positivism philosophical framework the study used correlational research design, deductive research approach, quantitative research methodology and a structured questionnaire to collect primary data from 171 participants comprising of procurement and finance officers in the three ministries. The study confirmed a statistically significant impact of multi-currency system on public sector procurement performance. All multi-currency system dimensions that include exchange rate fluctuations, foreign currency shortage and multiple currency usage induced inflation were found to significant positive predictors of both procurement cost and supplier price. Exchange rate fluctuations were confirmed to have the greatest positive impact on both procurement cost and supplier price in the public sector.

Revenue Service 6 March 2024 TC Judgment Case No. IT 14302

This article deals with the first transfer pricing case to come before the courts in South Africa which deals with the transfer pricing provisions contained in the South African tax legislation. It has attracted much interest and attention from tax practitioners in South Africa. It relates to the determination of an arm’s length royalty in respect of intellectual property in the form of a trademark. After a consideration of various methods to be used in determining the arm’s length rate of the royalty, the court held that the comparable uncontrolled price method was the appropriate method to be used in the circumstances and that the appellant possessed a valid internal comparable. Accordingly, the court upheld the appeal of the taxpayer.

Strategic demand information sharing in an e‐commerce supply chain: The effect of the supplier's pricing timing

AbstractThe paper studies strategic demand information sharing on online retail platforms and explores how it is influenced by the wholesale pricing timing. The supplier sells the product under a wholesale price contract indirectly and by paying a proportional commission fee directly. We investigate both ex ante and ex post information sharing arrangements. Under each arrangement, the supplier needs to determine the sequence of the wholesale price setting and the information sharing stage. We find that (1) under ex ante information sharing, if the supplier sets the wholesale price before, the online platform always shares private information; otherwise, it prefers to share only when the commission fee is large. Interestingly, the online platform's information sharing incentive is independent of signal accuracy and market variability. (2) Under ex post information sharing, the online platform may manipulate the signal shared with the supplier. We characterize the conditions and influencing factors of truthful information sharing. (3) If the conditions for information sharing can be achieved, the supplier prefers to set the wholesale price later. Otherwise, the supplier sets the wholesale price before inducing the online platform to share information.

Interactions between supplier encroachment format and pricing scheme with horizontal shareholding

This paper examines the interactions between supplier encroachment formats (centralized encroachment or decentralized encroachment) and pricing schemes (specific pricing or uniform pricing) in a two-tier supply chain consisting of one supplier and two incumbent retailers, wherein there exists horizontal shareholding between downstream retailers. The analytical results indicate that, under specific pricing scheme, both the incumbent retailers and the supplier prefer decentralized encroachment if the magnitude of shareholding level and the encroachment cost are high. Under uniform pricing scheme, both the incumbent retailers prefer decentralized encroachment while the supplier prefers centralized encroachment. Under centralized encroachment format, both the acquiring retailer and the supplier have consistent preference over pricing scheme (i.e., specific pricing scheme) while the acquired retailer prefers uniform pricing scheme. Under decentralized encroachment format, both the incumbent retailers prefer uniform pricing scheme if the magnitude of shareholding level is low and the encroachment cost is high, or the magnitude of shareholding level is high; both the supplier and the encroaching retailer prefer specific pricing scheme if the encroachment cost is high.

Selecting Resilient Strategies for Cost Optimization in Prefabricated Building Supply Chains Based on the Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-Ⅱ: Facing Diverse Disruption Scenarios

As a new sustainable building production mode, prefabricated building supply chains can realize energy saving, environmental protection and full cycle value maximization of building products. Prefabricated building supply chains often experience disruptions due to supply instability, transportation delay and force majeure, resulting in project delays and cost escalations and posing challenges to the sustainable development objectives of enterprises. Therefore, it is important and essential to study the strategy of enhancing the resiliency of prefabricated building supply chains, which has not been comprehensively explored in previous papers. This paper constructs decision-making models for supply chain cost resilience strategies under varying scenarios of supply disruptions, incorporating both redundant inventory and back-up supplier strategy. It considers the total cost and resilience of the supply chain as dual objective functions. Parameter-tuned non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-П (NSGA-П) algorithms were used innovatively to solve the project case, and the impacts of the redundant inventory coefficient and back-up supplier supply price coefficient on the model result were analyzed. The results indicate that the supply chain with resilience construction has a superior capability to cope with disruption. The results show that when there is a mild supply disruption, the general contractor uses the capacity within the supply chain and chooses a redundant inventory strategy to restore resilience. In the event of moderate disruption, both the easy inventory strategy and back-up supplier strategy are selected to maintain supply chain stability. In the event of a severe disruption, only the back-up supplier strategy is selected to cover the losses and maintain the project schedule. In addition, the choice of resilience strategy is impacted by the inventory levels and component prices of back-up suppliers. It further verifies the effectiveness of the model and the impacts of uncertain parameters in the model on the results. This study contributes to enhancing the resilience management of the prefabricated building supply chain by the general contractor, thereby elevating the overall efficiency and competitiveness of the supply chain and furthering the sustainable development of prefabricated buildings.

A flexible combinatorial auction bidding language for supplier selection and order allocation in a supply chain with price sensitive demand

This study addresses the multi-item multi-sourcing supplier selection and order allocation problem in a Combinatorial Auction (CA) framework. First, we propose a new flexible procurement CA bidding language, then prove that it can convey the same information as existing bidding languages while allowing more efficient auction outcomes and reduced computational complexity. Suppliers submit combinatorial bids to a single manufacturer. Each bid carries information about the supplier’s cost structure and potential discounts. The manufacturer purchases the items and assembles one or more product types that experience price-sensitive demand rates by end consumers. We use the realistic logit function to represent the price-sensitive demand rates of finished products. A Mixed Integer Non-Linear Programming (MINLP) model is developed to help the manufacturer make optimal supplier selection, order allocation, and pricing decisions under the proposed bidding language. The MINLP model considers purchasing, transportation, ordering, administrative, holding, and manufacturing costs. These considerations make the results of this study realistic with the potential to be used in practical applications. Also, we derive a set of necessary conditions that must exist in at least one optimal solution to the problem. These conditions can be utilized to design efficient solution mechanisms for this difficult problem in the future. Finally, an extensive numerical analysis is performed to illustrate the bidding language and the key results.

Impact of Updating Surgical Instrumentation Preference Cards on Operating Room Operations

Hospital systems across the United States have implemented quality improvement initiatives designed to mitigate unnecessary waste and decrease healthcare costs that are frequently passed on to patients. One key source of waste is excess sterile instrumentation in surgical operating rooms. This quality improvement project identified waste by auditing and updating surgical instrumentation preference cards (SIPCs) for the three most common procedures at a multi-center academic health system. Unnecessary items were recorded and savings calculated using 2022 supplier price data. Forty-nine procedures were audited, resulting in changes to 111 unique SIPCs. Although this process produced significant savings for the health system, it was limited to fewer than 10% of the total cases performed. Total savings were observed at $337,007 with savings of $56,254 for open instrumentation. A manual audit of all SIPCs across the institution and regular updates has the potential to decrease instrumentation waste and annual expenditures by approximately $4 million.

Game Theory Applications in Equilibrium Water Pricing of Multiple Regional Sources and Users

China has been facing a contradiction between its water supply and demand for a long time, and it is urgent that it builds a “water-saving society”. Previous research on water pricing mainly focused on the policy level, only considering the supply and demand sides and ignoring the participation of local governments. Due to the inconsistent approval mechanisms, different times of cost formation, and lack of a scientific pricing relationship between multiple water sources and multiple users, with the current water pricing in China, it is difficult to solve the complex problem of water resource allocation. This study aimed to promote the qualitative supply of water and the reuse of reclaimed water, achieve a high-quality and low-cost water supply, and explore the role of water-pricing mechanisms in the regulation of multi-source water supply configurations. The mechanism of regulation is constructed for the complex, multi-source, multi-user water resource system, and a three-party game model is established among local governments, water supply enterprises, and water users. A reasonable pricing system with a rational price relationship is obtained, and Pinghu City in Zhejiang Province is taken as the research area. The prices of the external water supply to residential users, non-resident users, and special users are 4.48 CNY/m3, 6.28 CNY/m3, and 7.12 CNY/m3. The external supply prices for resident users, non-resident users, and special users are 3.81 CNY/m3, 5.25 CNY/m3, and 6.05 CNY/m3. The external supply price for non-resident users is 2.62 CNY/m3 for reclaimed water. The results of the study showed that when the government’s contribution did not exceed the amount that it would have been without the inclusion of recycled water and the annual payment of water users did not exceed their ability to pay, the income of water suppliers increased by 69%. The three balanced objectives of rational water resource configuration by the local government, reasonable profit for the water supply enterprise, and reasonable payment by water users have been achieved. This study provides theoretical and methodological support for the implementation of water pricing for multi-source and multi-user water supplies in water-scarce areas.

Identifying and Nurturing New Sales Opportunities: Study of UltraTech Cement’s Exploration of Potential Counters in Bilha and Masturi Blocks (Bilaspur)

This study looks into the dynamics of finding and developing new sales possibilities in the context of UltraTech Cement's investigation on possible counter locations in Masturi Blocks, Bilaspur, and Bilha. The research explores the complex interactions among variables that shape merchants' choices about cement brand promotion or inventory. Important insights that emphasise the critical roles played by supplier incentives, market demand, pricing strategies, and brand reputation in influencing retailers' decisions are revealed by thorough data interpretation and analysis. Furthermore, opinions about UltraTech Cement's standing in the market and contrasts with other well-known companies offer insightful information about positioning tactics. The report also makes suggestions for improving market penetration and retailer cooperation, such as customised marketing campaigns, ongoing training initiatives, and rewards for top-performing merchants. Using these realisations and putting strategic initiatives into place, UltraTech Cement can increase its market share in the Bilha and Masturi Blocks segments, fostering long-term growth and solidifying its dominance. Keywords: Market Dynamics, Brand Reputation, Pricing Strategies, Retailer Collaboration, Marketing Initiatives, Sustainable Growth.

Optimal decisions of retailer's loans from bank

AbstractThis study employs the Stackelberg game model to explore an innovative financing model where the retailer directly borrows from the bank under conditions of symmetric information. Diverging from traditional research, this study uniquely incorporates the concept of the margin rate into the decentralised decision analysis among retailer, supplier, and bank. The finding indicates that the capital of the retailer and margin rate significantly influence financing decisions within the supply chain, thereby impacting profitability for all stakeholders. Specifically, we find that the margin rate plays a crucial role in optimising retailer financing decisions, supplier pricing strategies, and bank risk management. These insights offer a fresh perspective for banks to establish appropriate margin rates and loan interest rates, effectively managing loan risks and maximising supply chain profitability.

Effects of early and late sowing on the profitability of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) production

Objective: To analyze how early and late sowing can improve the income of cucumber producers in the state of Michoacán, Mexico. Design/Methodology/Approach: Monthly income, production cost, profit, and benefit-cost ratio were calculated in three sowing scenarios: middle, early, and late. Results: In an early sowing scenario, the income and profit of the producers increase by 10.2 and 9.2 million pesos, respectively, compared to the middle sowing scenario. Likewise, in a late sowing scenario, producer income and profits increase by 29.2 and 20.0 million pesos, regarding the middle sowing scenario. Study Limitations/Implications: The negative effects on vegetable prices of temporary excess supply prove the need to plan the surface that will be used for early and late sowing, as well as to create a regulatory body that plans the cucumber sowing area. Findings/Conclusions: Sowing cucumber and other vegetables in early or late dates is recommended, since better production planning will increase the producers’ income and profit.

특수강자재 구매요인이 만족도 및 행동의도에 미치는 영향

This study was conducted to investigate the mediating effect of satisfaction in the relationship between specialty steel purchase factors and behavioral intentions. As a result of statistically analyzing data collected through a survey, it was found that awareness and responsiveness among the factors for purchasing special steel materials had a significant effect on behavioral intentions by mediating immersion. In addition, among the factors for purchasing special steel materials, product quality, supply price, safety, and responsiveness were found to have a significant effect on behavior by mediating customer satisfaction. Through this result, the researcher suggests practical implications.

Live Supplier Catalog and Pricing for Omnichannel

This paper proposes a technical architecture for an Omni-channel Supplier Catalog that provides real-time price updates. This system leverages a combination of open-source technologies, including Apache Camel, Spark Connector, Kafka Topics, Cassandra database, and Kubernetes, deployed on a resilient and elastic cloud platform. This paper details the data pipeline design, outlining how each component contributes to efficient data ingestion, processing, and dissemination. Additionally, the paper highlights the benefits of using this architecture, including improved decision-making, enhanced operational efficiency, and a seamless omnichannel experience for customers.

Supplier encroachment and pricing scheme choice in a supply chain with two-sided uncertainties

ABSTRACT This paper examines supplier encroachment in a scenario where the supplier procures an input in spot and processes it into a final product, while the retailer chooses between contingent and committed pricing schemes for the contract price. We find that when the correlation between the input spot price and final product demand is relatively small, it is optimal for the retailer to adopt the contingent pricing scheme regardless of the supplier's encroachment decision. This is because this scheme enables the supplier to share the input price risk, resulting in a lower contract price. Furthermore, the likelihood of the retailer adopting the contingent pricing scheme increases as demand variability decreases or spot price volatility increases. However, supplier encroachment reduces the retailer's inclination to use the contingent pricing scheme. We further demonstrate that the supplier should encroach when the correlation is sufficiently small, because encroachment alleviates double marginalisation in the retail channel and brings the additional responsiveness in the direct channel. By contrast, a large correlation compels the supplier to encroach even with a sufficiently small market size. In this case, encroachment improves the responsiveness of both retail and direct selling quantities and enables the quantities to match the demand better.

Optimal pricing and capacity management in service systems with delay-sensitive mixed-risk customers

In service systems with delay-sensitive customers, customer decisions to join the queue or balk influence demand, impacting service provider profits. Studies show that customers can be risk-seeking for short waits and risk-averse when waits exceed expectations. Prior research on this mixed-risk attitude is limited, focussing on optimal pricing policies from a social welfare perspective. This study fills this gap by investigating the impact of this behaviour on customer joining strategies and the provider's pricing and capacity policies. We analyse a profit-maximising firm managing an unobservable queue where customers display mixed-risk behaviour towards delay parameterised by a risk-switching point and a degree of risk propensity. Customers join or balk based on expected utility, while the firm determines the service price and rate to maximise expected profit. We derive optimal strategies for both customers and the firm under scenarios with concave or convex capacity costs. Computational experiments show that optimal pricing, capacity, and profit peak at intermediate risk-switching points. For smaller points, optimal price and capacity rise with the customers' degree of risk propensity, while larger points have minimal impact. Numerical exploration emphasises the significance of capacity cost and the effectiveness of leveraging price over controlling capacity for maximising firm profitability.

Unlocking HRM Challenges: Exploring Motivation and Job Satisfaction within Military Service (LAF)

This research investigates the intricacies of motivation and job satisfaction among military service members within the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) amidst various challenges. Employing an intrinsic–extrinsic framework, the study adopts a sequential mixed-method design. Interviews were conducted with 42 LAF service members, a Focus Group was convened with 12 LAF subject matter experts, and a survey was administered to 3880 LAF service members across the country. The findings underscore the significance of monetary rewards and praise as primary motivators. Notably, the expectation of rewards emerges as a crucial motivating factor closely linked to job satisfaction, while intrinsic factors exhibit comparatively lesser influence. Salary emerges as the foremost determinant of job satisfaction. Moreover, economic challenges, particularly the drastic decline in purchasing power, serve as a significant moderating factor, adversely impacting the relationship between motivation and job satisfaction. Health challenges, such as the scarcity and increased prices of medical supplies, also exert a negative moderating influence. Conversely, security challenges demonstrate no significant moderating impact. Insights gleaned from the Lebanese context emphasize the importance of offering competitive salaries and recognition programs, ensuring equitable compensation, designing reward systems aligned with performance expectations, regularly reviewing, and adjusting salary structures, providing comprehensive support for employees’ physical and mental well-being, and fostering a secure work environment.