Supply Chain Members Research Articles

Freshness-keeping effort vs. sustainability: an efficient approach for perishable supply chain system

Last few decades, unwanted climate change and global warming have forced us to think about the world environment. This paper investigates a perishable supply chain system consisting of one manufacturer, one third-party logistics service provider, and multiple retailers. The logistics provider and retailers use cooling technologies to maintain the product's freshness. Here, consumers' demand is evaluated from the utility function based on price, freshness, and sustainability level. The environmental impacts of the system are measured from the amount of energy consumption and carbon emission. Also, the supply chain members are taking their decisions in cooperation, non-cooperation, and coordination decision scenarios to maximise their profit and reduce total environmental impacts. We develop a general model and a particular model under different decision scenarios. The optimal sustainability level, price, and freshness-keeping-effort (FKE) are derived using the Stackelberg game theory. A numerical experiment as well as sensitivity analyses of various important parameters are conducted. It explores that (i) FKEs have more impact than the sustainability level for the consumption of perishable products. (ii) The retailer-leadership scenario is the most effective for reducing carbon emissions and energy consumption whereas the cooperative decision scenario is better for maintaining the freshness level.

Research on the trade-in modes for electric vehicle power batteries under deposit and fund policies

Abstract Recycling power batteries has gained attention as electric vehicles (EVs) develop rapidly. Government deposit and fund policies encourage battery recycling and cascade utilization. Thus, we construct six trade-in modes for battery supplier, EV manufacturer, and external recycler as recycle entity under deposit and fund policies. Supply chain member profits, battery recycling rate, environmental impact, and social welfare are compared between modes. The results are as follows: (1) Deposit policy has a greater battery recycling rate and lower environmental impact than fund policy, so the best trade-in mode is with the EV manufacturer as recycling entity; (2) Battery supplier and EV manufacturer gain more from the fund policy when recycling themselves, whereas external recycler prefers the deposit policy; (3) Battery supplier recycling under ‘high deposit-high subsidy’ is more likely to promote social welfare, while EV manufacturer recycling under ‘high deposit-low subsidy’ will help the government balance revenue and expenditure.

Embracing the power of AI in retail platform operations: Considering the showrooming effect and consumer returns

This study examines a duopoly market comprising an online retail platform and a physical store, both of them selling experience-based products to consumers who are unaware of the products’ fitness. The platform could introduce artificial intelligence (AI) technology into retail operations to address consumers’ fitness uncertainty and then gain market share, while the physical store could exert a service effort to recapture the market, potentially facilitating showrooming behavior. Operational decisions including pricing, AI application, and service effort exertion are investigated in the cases where consumers are allowed and unallowed to return unsuitable products. We first develop a theoretical model of dual-channel retailing to determine the equilibrium operational decisions for the supply chain members, and then examine the interactions between these operational decisions and consumers’ showrooming behaviors. Subsequently, we perform numerical simulations to verify the robustness of the theoretical findings. Results indicate that both AI application and service efforts exertion will strengthen consumers’ showrooming effect, especially when the cost of AI application is relatively low. Moreover, regardless of whether the store implements the service effort or not, the platform prefers to apply AI technology when consumers are allowed to return products. Furthermore, the physical store will always exert a service effort, and with the service effort, the application of AI technology in the retail platform operation could effectively mitigate the impact of consumer return on supply chain members.

A Discrete-Event Simulation Study of Multi-Objective Sales and Operation Planning Under Demand Uncertainty: A Case of the Ethiopian Automotive Industry

Sales and operation planning is one of the major categories of supply chain planning that enables the balancing of demand with supply through the integration of internal functions as well as external supply chain members. The major issues are its large scale, dynamic, multi-objective nature and presence of uncertain parameters. Handling uncertainty, extending the level of integration, enhancing collaboration, and contextualization of the models already developed in different industrial situations are the gaps identified in the literature. This research aims to develop a discrete-event simulation model from the literature in the context of the Ethiopian automotive industry and extend the level of collaboration to suppliers and customers. The industry’s sales and operation planning process is surveyed to develop the model as a decision support system that can be utilized for understanding the system behavior, evaluation of manufacturing flexibility, and inventory control policies. The research findings demonstrate that the customer service level and total profit can be significantly improved through the proposed joint primary and negotiated backup supply policy with price revision. Managerial implications that are expected to improve the technical capability of Ethiopian automotive industries are also highlighted.

Enhancing Innovation Capabilities: The Role of Market Orientation and Collaboration in Guangdong's IoT Sector

This study investigates the impact of market orientation and collaboration with supply chain members on product innovation performance in Guangdong IoT companies. Empirical analysis reveals that both dominant and reactive market orientations positively influence collaboration with supply chain members and product innovation performance. The study identifies three dimensions of innovation competency—strategic collaboration, research and development collaboration, and marketing collaboration—and highlights their mediating role in the relationship between market orientation and product innovation performance. Moreover, environmental turbulence moderates the impact of market orientation on product innovation performance, emphasizing the importance of aligning market strategies with external conditions. These findings contribute to theoretical understanding and offer practical insights for Guangdong IoT companies to enhance their innovation capabilities and drive product innovation in dynamic market environments.

How Do Fairness Concern and Power Structure Affect Competition Between E-Platforms and Third-Party Sellers?

Fairness issues have been frequently mentioned in the business world. In the context of today's global e-platform economy, this is more likely to breed fairness concerns due to the inherent power differential between e-platforms and third-party sellers (3P sellers). This article focuses on the impact of fairness concerns and power structures on the performance of supply chain members. In this article, we develop a game-theoretic model consisting of e-platform and 3P seller. The results of this article show that different power structures have different influences on the existence of fairness concerns. When the power structure tends to be balanced, the emergence of fairness concerns reduces the total efficiency of the supply chain system. When the e-platform is in a strong position, the emergence of fairness concerns has no effect on the supply chain system. It is also found that although the fairness concerns of the 3P seller cannot positively affect the supply chain as a whole, for the 3P seller itself, the emergence of fairness concerns can realize the transfer of profit distribution from the e-platform to the 3P seller by resetting the commission. In addition to the contribution of the theoretical part, some management insights are gained in this article. Supply chain members need to pay attention to the relationship management among supply chain members (e.g., fairness concern psychology). From the perspective of resource allocation, fairness and efficiency sometimes cannot coexist, and the stability of the supply chain and overall high efficiency sometimes cannot coexist.

Blockchain Adoption for Generic Drugs in the Medicine Supply Chain with Consumers' Risk-Aversion: A Game-Theoretic Model Within Chinese Legal Framework.

Blockchain is expected to mitigate consumers' risk-aversion and quality uncertainty about generic drugs in medicine supply chains. This study investigates the effect of blockchain adoption for disclosing the quality information of generic drugs that compete with original drugs in the market and proposes legal measures accordingly. We employ a game-theoretic model to analyze a medicine supply chain including a generic drug manufacturer, an original drug manufacturer, and a retailer. We examine when should the supply chain members adopt blockchain for generic drugs and how blockchain affects the medicine supply chain. Our results show that the quality information of generic drugs determines how blockchain adoption affects the price and sales quantity of generic and original drugs. Moreover, we observe that the generic drugs manufacturer and the retailer decide to adopt blockchain only if consumers' risk-aversion degree is sufficiently low. Also, a low risk-aversion degree can lead to higher whole supply chain's profitability with blockchain adoption, and generate a win-win-win situation of blockchain adoption for the consumers, the generic drug manufacturer, and the retailer. To mitigate consumers' risk aversion, the law should safeguard consumer rights. Blockchain adoption can benefit the medicine supply chain and consumers under certain conditions. However, it also requires the coordination of supply chain members' benefits and the disclosure of quality information.

The Relationship between Corporate Environmental Performance and Suppliers’ Credit Lending

Green supply chain management has gained traction in contemporary times against many environmental catastrophes and scandals involving prominent companies. Despite the strides made by lawmakers to address such challenges, an increasing number of corporations overlook environmental issues such as global warming, ecological concerns, reverse logistics, and global energy. Notwithstanding the contributions in prior studies, to the best of researchers’ knowledge, no study has sought to link corporate environmental performance with suppliers’ credit lending practices. Yet policymakers seek to develop regulations that incorporate the understanding of the collaboration among the supply chain members. Thus, we seek to establish the short-run and long-run dynamics between corporate environmental performance and suppliers’ credit lending. Targeting companies listed in the FTSE/JSE RII, we draw a sample of 21 companies using a judgemental sampling technique. Furthermore, archival data were collected to compute a short panel data set. The panel data set for statistical analysis comprised 21 cross-sections over six years, totalling 126 observations. The study adopted the first differenced econometric models in data analyses, namely Panel Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) and, subsequently, Panel Least Squares (PLS), Wald Test, and Impulse Response Functions (IRF). Findings indicated a statistically significant positive relationship exists in the long run between corporate environmental performance and suppliers’ credit lending. Conversely, the same endogenous variables produced a statistically significant negative relationship in the short run. The study contributes new insights to supply chain management literature and renders novel policy implications for lawmakers.

Factors Influencing the Supply Chain in the Export-Import Food Market in Vietnam

This study examines the key factors affecting supply chains in Vietnam's food export-import market. Using a mixed-methods approach, including expert interviews, focus groups, and a survey of 400 managers from food export-import companies, the research identifies seven critical factors: food quality and safety, traceability, logistics and transportation management, relationships between supply chain members, enterprise factors, ability to meet market demands, and government policies. Quantitative analysis reveals that food quality and safety has the strongest impact, with a standardized regression coefficient of 0.327. The proposed model explains 56.6% of the variance in supply chain performance. Based on these findings, the study recommends strategies for businesses to enhance their supply chain efficiency, including investing in quality control, implementing traceability technologies, optimizing logistics, building sustainable partnerships, strengthening management capabilities, improving market responsiveness, and leveraging government support. The research contributes to both theoretical understanding and practical management of food export-import supply chains in Vietnam.

Research on pricing and financing strategy of dual-channel closed-loop supply chain considering recycling channel competition

This paper investigates the pricing and financing strategies of a dual-channel closed-loop supply chain consisting of a financially constrained manufacturer, a retailer and a third-party recycler that competes with the manufacturer for recycling, considering the various financing options available to the manufacturer. The profit functions of the supply chain members with no capital constraint, no capital constraint, equity financing, bank financing and retailer equity financing are constructed respectively. The optimal decision of the closed-loop supply chain under different scenarios and the capital boundary of the manufacturer’s debt financing are determined based on the Stackelberg game method and the Kuhn-Tucker conditional approach. The results show that: (1) increased competition for recycling has a negative impact on all supply chain members, and an increase in the manufacturer’s own funds when the manufacturer is financially constrained reduces channel pricing, increases recycling rates and increases member profits; (2) an increase in the retailer’s share of the dividend leads to a reduction in the manufacturer’s direct sales price and recycling price and an increase in the wholesale price, but the retailer is still profitable and reduces retail prices and increases recycling rates. (3) A high or low equity dividend ratio will lead the manufacturer to choose bank financing when the manufacturer has little initial capital, and to choose no financing when the manufacturer has more initial capital. (4) An increase in own funds reduces the threshold and range of equity dividends for retailer entry financing, and an increase in the recycling competition factor has the opposite effect. (5) As consumers’ online channel preferences increase, retailers are willing to enter into financing partnerships with manufacturers within a range of dividends, regardless of the manufacturer’s initial capital level.

A closed-loop supply chain operation decision under life cycle: Ecological design, service design and recycling effort perspectives

The commercial, environmental and social value of closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) has been widely recognised in the literature. Enterprises are increasingly aware of the importance of product life cycle management; that is, enterprises conduct CLSC management of the production, use and recycling of products. Existing research lacks research on CLSC operation decision under product life cycle. This paper introduces ecological design, service design and recycling into a CLSC with the manufacturer, retailer and recycler. Stackelberg models considering different leadership structures and service design providers are constructed using game theory, and we use backward induction to solve the game in different cases. Results show that from the system-operating efficiency and total profits maximisation perspectives, the recycler-led is always the most effective. However, for the selection of the optimal service design provider, when the manufacturer (retailer) is the leader, the retailer (manufacturer) providing the service design should be the dominant strategy. When the recycler is the leader, the effect is the same no matter who provides the service design. Finally, we find an interesting conclusion that in the case of retailer provides service design, supply chain members do not always achieve the highest profits under their own leadership structure. The numerical analysis shows that when the consumer’s preference for service design is greater than 6.3, the manufacturer can obtain greater profits under the recycler-led structure, and when consumer’s preference for ecological design is greater than 7.1, the retailer can gain greater profits under the recycler-led structure.

Modular design of new products and remanufacturing of used products under mass customization

Modular architecture design can not only increase the product variety and thus make mass customization (MC) easier, but also improve interchangeability and then lower the remanufacturing cost. This paper models a remanufacturing MC supply chain with one manufacturer and one retailer. The manufacturer, as a Stackelberg game leader, designs and then sells the new and modular MC products via its brand retailer, and meanwhile the remanufacturing of used MC products would be carried out by either the manufacturer or the retailer. We study the optimal modular design for new MC products and the best remanufacturing mode for used MC products. One centralized and two decentralized decision models are formulated, and the equilibrium solutions of proposed models are compared and analyzed. Findings show that, compared to the retailer-remanufacturing mode, the manufacturer-remanufacturing mode can be superior in terms of the ability to cope with customer customization requirements (i.e., the modularity level), total supply chain profit, and consumer surplus. Moreover, both supply chain members and consumers would prefer the manufacturer-remanufacturing mode when the parameters meet certain conditions. We also extend the model to two scenarios: the remanufacturing is bounded by cores supply and the retailer acts a leader, so as to verify the robustness of main results. The above theoretical results are verified by numerical examples.

Факторна компонентна оцінка логістичної системи в управлінні підприємницькими структурами

The study in the article is aimed at analyzing the integration of logistic functions with the internal functions of enterprises, which are production, procurement, sales, staff management, accounting and finance, as well as integration with external suppliers and buyers. The aim of the article is to find out the importance of internal and external factors, which, acting together with the logistic function, increase the efficiency of management, which is reflected in the performance of enterprises, on the basis of building a model of factor analysis. The integration of management systems into supply chains, such as warehouse management systems and transportation management systems, results in better global inventory visibility, which reduces costs and increases cycle times. Internal integration in business organizations and external integration between supply chain partners should be carefully developed by managers to achieve a high level of organizational performance. Doubts and insecurities in supply chains can be reduced by strengthening internal integration, which enhances organizations’ information-processing capabilities. The growth of internal integration allows employees to better understand value creation processes as well as how business functions relate to each other. Business efficiency depends on responding to customer and supplier requests, which is reflected in the ability to adapt to constant changes. Cooperation between supply chain members, providing each other with information, as well as mutual support services can increase competitiveness and shorten supply chain cycle times. Thus, an important part of the assessment of the logistics system in the management of business structures is the determination of indicators reflecting the factors of logistic functions. When constructing a factor component model for assessing the logistics system, the study identifies two main directions influencing the management of entrepreneurial structures, namely: the volume of production and the volume of sales of products at the enterprise. Thus, the measurement and planning of these indicators allows to build effective supply chains between all divisions of the business structure, which significantly increases the level of integration and significantly affects adaptive capabilities and competitiveness.

Trust and reputation systems for production networks

Trust and reputation in production networks are of increasing importance, both from theoretical and practical points of view. One can find some case studies considering trustfulness in different areas such as supply chains, cloud, distributed and platform-based manufacturing as well – but considering trustfulness is not yet widespread in this field. The aim of the paper is twofold: first, to provide an overview about trust and reputation systems (TRSs) including definitions, classification of systems, rankings, challenges attack types, defense mechanisms and case studies. Second, to compose a requirement list – based on challenges found in the literature and consequences drawn – towards a TRS that can be used between production companies and supply chain members and is able to face the issues found in the scientific papers and introduced by the authors.

The role of supplier-buyer relationship in enhancing business performance through supply chain management practice, total quality management implementation and product innovation

The Company should collaborate with supply chain members to support business process activities and increase competitiveness. Company collaboration with suppliers is essential in supporting the adoption of supply chain practices and total quality management to pursue product innovation and enhance business performance. This study investigates the role of supplier-buyer relationships in enhancing business performance through supply chain management practice, total quality management, and product innovation. The research surveyed 150 companies implementing total quality management with ISO certification in East Java. Data processing employs partial least squares using SmartPLS software version 4.0. The research found that supplier-buyer relationships positively and significantly influence supply chain practice by 0.800, total quality management by 0.438, and product innovation by 0.293. The company's ability to implement supply chain practices positively affects total quality management by 0.443, product innovation by 0.206, and business performance by 0.263. Total quality management adopted by manufacturing companies by obtaining ISO certification has an impact on increasing product innovation by 0.412 and business performance by 0.276. The company's ability to build a supply chain strategy to produce innovative products affects business performance by 0.446. The research results contribute practically to managers who build coordination with supply chain members, especially purchasing and marketing managers, to be able to read the capabilities and advantages of external partners to be communicated internally in the company—theoretical contribution in enriching supply chain strategy theory in increasing competitiveness.

Dynamic Quality and Advertising Decisions Considering Product Recalls in Supply Chain

Under the trend of economic globalization and lean production, how to cope with the costs in the supply chain is a core issue to be considered in the operation and management of enterprises. In this paper, we construct a supply chain system consisting of a supplier and a manufacturer who buys components from the supplier to produce finished products and then sells them to consumers. Considering the potential product recalls and the existence of cost-sharing contracts among supply chain members, we constructed game models for the non-cooperative and cooperative scenarios respectively, and explored how supply chain members adjusted their advertising media and quality investments to cope with the product recalls in both scenarios; we also explored the coordinating effects of the cost-sharing contracts on the supply chain through the comparisons of the two scenarios. The study finds that: Manufacturers can effectively incentivize suppliers to invest more in primary quality and improve product quality through cost-sharing contracts. The effectiveness of cost-sharing contracts in coordinating the supply chain is affected by the likelihood of recalls and the extent of recall damage, and cooperation can only be achieved when both are relatively small.

Cooperative Donation Programs in Supply Chains With Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

Today, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is known as a critical element of supply chain (SC) operations. In this article, we analytically study an SC coordination problem with social efforts for charity. The proposed SC includes one retailer and one manufacturer in which the manufacturer gives donations to a nongovernmental organization (NGO) in two forms, namely a lump sum amount plus a per-sold-item donation amount. While CSR efforts have been considered as an abstract concept in prior studies, this article contributes to the literature by specifically exploring an SC with an NGO in the form of two types of donations as CSR activities. The problem is first modeled under a decentralized decision-making setting in which each member focuses on its own profit. The second model is developed under the centralized decision-making structure in which the whole SC profit under the centralized scenario is improved. To achieve Pareto-improving channel coordination, a cooperative donation program using a combined “wholesale price and cost-sharing” contract is proposed. Our analytically proven results demonstrate that the proposed SC coordination contract can achieve Pareto improvement. Moreover, we prove that the NGO receives more donations under the proposed contract. Therefore, the proposed contract is beneficial to both the SC members and the NGO. In the extended model, we investigate the case under the endogenous “low/high pricing regimes” and reveal that the main findings remain robust. Managerial insights and implications are discussed.

Remanufacturing closed-loop supply chain decision comparison under multiple carbon policies

Abstract This article constructs a closed-loop supply chain system including a single manufacturer and a single retailer and studies the optimal decision problem of enterprises under three different carbon reduction policies. Three supply chain game models were constructed to research the impact of different carbon reduction policies on the decisions of supply chain members. The results revealed that:(1) The carbon emission reduction level of the manufacturer is negatively correlated with the recycling price of used products and the abatement cost factor;(2) When the carbon trading price is equal to the tax rate, the carbon cap and trade policy is more conducive to promoting the manufacturer to improve the level of carbon emission reduction;(3) When the carbon trading price is low, mixed carbon policy is more favorable for the manufacturer to increase its carbon emission reduction. The research results of this study can provide certain suggestions for the government to implement a reasonable carbon reduction policy.

Pricing decision for recycling and remanufacturing supply chain considering consumer online consumption preferences and recycled products’ quality

With the organic integration of the Internet and remanufacturing industry, traditional manufacturers can recycle used products and sell products (including new and remanufactured products) through e-commerce retail platforms. A recycling and remanufacturing supply chain with three members (manufacturer, e-commerce retail platform, third-party recycler) is constructed in this paper. Manufacturer has remanufacturing capabilities, and the e-commerce retail platform can provide logistics service. In response to the organic integration of the Internet and remanufacturing industry, we mainly consider the pricing decisions of consumer preferences for online sales models and recycled products’ quality. Based on the impact of consumer used product recycling promotion activities on supply chain, a pricing game model was constructed for three recycling channels: manufacturer, e-commerce retail platform, and third-party recycler. Optimal pricing decision, logistics service level, used product recycling promotion intensity index, and recycling rate were obtained. Research has shown that consumer preferences can significantly improve supply chain logistics service level, pricing, market demand, and profits; Strengthening consumer awareness of remanufacturing used products and improving recycled products’ quality can not only lower consumer purchase prices and expand consumer demand, but also increase profits of supply chain members.

Coordination and optimization decision of assembly building supply chain under supply disruption risk

Assembly buildings, in the context of the low-carbon transformation of the construction industry, achieve superior outcomes in terms of carbon emission reduction, enhancement of building uniformity, and optimization of resource utilization as compared to traditional buildings. However, the supply chain for assembly building is marked by a significant susceptibility to risk and a need for timely fulfillment of requirements. This paper examines the risk of disruption and capacity limitations in the assembly building supply chain resulting from supply disruptions. It establishes a three-tier supply chain for assembly buildings, including primary component suppliers, backup suppliers, assembly manufacturers, and retailers. The study compares the optimal decision-making and coordination strategies of the supply chain members under centralized, decentralized, and joint agreements. The supply chain dual-source procurement decision coordination model is constructed by incorporating capacity constraints and analyzing the effects of supply disruption probability, repurchase coefficient, revenue sharing coefficient, cost, and other parameters on the expected profits of the supply chain members using arithmetic simulation. Research has indicated that when the likelihood of a disturbance occurring rises, the anticipated financial gain for the main provider decreases, while the predicted financial gain for the secondary supplier increases. The implementation of a collaborative agreement between the assembly maker and the parts backup provider would result in much greater anticipated profits compared to the decentralized decision-making approach. The impact of the revenue sharing coefficient on the predicted earnings of retailers and assembly manufacturers is more significant compared to the repurchase coefficient. The selection bias between NA and NB techniques under capacity constraints mostly arises from the assertiveness of the wholesale asking prices of inexpensive component suppliers, leading assembly manufacturers to increasingly prefer the NA option. This paper's research successfully achieves the contractual coordination of the assembly building supply chain, enhances the resilience of the assembly building supply chain, and promotes the long-term sustainable development of the assembly building supply chain.