Three-level Supply Chain Research Articles

Inventory Models for Non-Instantaneous Deteriorating Items with Expiration Dates and Imperfect Quality under Hybrid Payment Policy in the Three-Level Supply Chain

This article considers an inventory model for non-instantaneous deteriorating items with expiration dates, such as seasonal items, first-hand vegetables, and fruits. Interestingly, an inspection will be performed to manage the quality of the items during the state of no deterioration because it is difficult to purchase items with 100% perfection. Additionally, we assume that the upstream member has the power of controlling or influencing downstream members’ decisions. That is, the supplier asks the retailer for a partial advance payment to avoid cancellation of orders and offers them a credit payment to stimulate sales; in turn, the customer must pay some cash when placing an order and pay the remainder in credit for the retailer. The goal of this article is to determine an optimal replenishment cycle and the total annual cost function, so we explore the functional properties of the total annual cost function and show that the total annual cost function is convex. Theoretical analysis of the optimal properties shows the existence and uniqueness of the optimal solution. Then, we obtain simple and easy solution procedures for the inventory system. Moreover, numerical analysis of the inventory model is conducted, and the corresponding examples are considered with a view to illustrating the application of the supply chain model that we have investigated in this article. Finally, in the concluding section, we have not only provided the motivation and the need for our usages of mathematical analytic solution procedures based upon the convexity, monotonicity (increasing and decreasing) and differentiability properties of the object function (that is, the total annual cost function), which involve some symmetry aspects of the object function, but we have also indicated the limitations and shortcomings in our investigation, which will naturally lead to some potential directions for further research on the supply chain model, which we have considered and mathematically analyzed in this article.

Optimization of supply chain finance based on Stackelberg model

In recent years, the relationship between the concepts of operations management and finance management has been an attractive area of research among researchers. One of the emerging areas at the beginning of the 21st century in the literature of operations and supply chain management is the topic of supply chain finance (SCF). SCF is a new concept that provides efficient financing of the supply chain, where all parties can balance the working capital and improve cash flow at a reduced cost by utilizing the buyer's or other parties' credit rating. Hence, in this study, an approach to optimize financing based on the Stackelberg model in a three-level supply chain, considering the circumstances in which the supplier is financially constrained for fulfillment the buyer's order and funded by the bank as another member of the supply chain based on the purchase order financing (POF) is discussed. For this purpose, a nonlinear mathematical programming model has been developed to maximize the payoff function of the partners.

A Multi-Objective Model for Inventory Management of the Integrated Multi-Product Supply Chain Considering Central Warehouse and Potential Demand

In this research, an inventory management model is developed by the seller for a three-echelon supply chain, which also includes a central warehouse, along with order constraints. In this method, the seller monitors the level of inventory of the retailer so that it determines the time and amount of products for the seller and the retailer and reduces the inventory costs for the seller and the retailer. Sales inventory management in the supply chain has an integrated approach to planning and controlling materials and information in the production and distribution chain, transportation, warehouses and customers. One of the objectives of the proposed mathematical model is to determine the inventory of retailers, vendors, central warehouse and the optimal refund rate for the seller and central warehouse, which ultimately leads to a reduction in the cost of the entire system. In this study, after presenting a three-objective mathematical model to study the three-level supply chain by considering several retailers and multiple vendors and the central warehouse, the model is solved using GAMS software by the Epsilon constraint method and to test. The validation of the proposed model is examined by providing an example of the proposed model.

Research on Optimal Design of Short-Life Cycle Product Logistics Supply Chain Based on Multicriteria Decision Model

In order to study the special production, distribution, transportation, and sales of short-lived and short-lived multimedia products, this paper studies the cost and benefit optimization of a three-level supply chain network consisting of a supplier-producer-distribution center. Simultaneously, to effectively describe the actual inventory level of the retailer’s multimedia products, this paper introduces a new nonlinear function to define the real-time inventory of multimedia products to establish a biobjective nonlinear mixed-integer programming model to estimate the inventory. The research results show that the model established in this paper can not only provide the overall cost and optimal decision-making plan for the short-lived dairy supply chain but also the design method is better than the standard constraint method. Relevant research results have important potential guiding significance for research and design of supply chain network structure, measurement of multimedia product inventory levels, and improvement of customer satisfaction. The optimized design of the logistics supply chain of multimedia products with short life cycle under the background of new retail is beneficial.

Maximizing middlemen’s profit through a two-stage ordering strategy

In the era of e-commerce, middlemen serve as distributors that purchase wholesale products from suppliers and sell them to retailers. Middlemen have additional functions such as facilitating import and export, interacting with supply chain participants, playing a crucial role in connecting production to customer demand, and coordinating a supplier-middleman-retailer three-level supply chain. This study proposes a two-stage ordering strategy for the middleman to earn higher profits, compared to a single-stage ordering strategy, in a three-level supply chain. We introduce a heuristic solution methodology to find the optimal order quantity of multiple products for both the initial ordering and the follow-up ordering period that maximizes the middleman’s profit. Furthermore, we examine the influence of diverse costs including sourcing, stockout, and ordering costs, as well as minimum order quantity contract and demand variance on the middleman’s order quantity and profits. We found that these costs do not affect the total order quantity. However, they strongly affect the split between the initial and follow-up order quantities. In two-stage ordering system, a higher demand variance does not lead to significant profit reduction for middlemen. Our study provides an approach of using a two-stage ordering strategy for middlemen to increase their profits and mitigate the price and demand risks.

Green Supply Chain Network Optimization Under Random and Fuzzy Environment

This paper established a three-level supply chain composed of plants, distribution centers, and retailers, and studied the location of distribution centers in the supply chain network and the carbon emissions during processing and transportation. In a random and fuzzy environment, the research objective is to minimize the supply chain’s cost and carbon emission. The multi-objective uncertain equilibrium model of the green supply chain network is established by introducing opportunity constraints, and the stability of the model can be enhanced by using variance function and risk function. Then this research integrated the theory of stochastic programming and fuzzy mathematical programming and employed Monte Carlo simulation; the sample mean approximation, chance-constrained programming and fuzzy expectation to deal with the random parameters and fuzzy parameters in the model so that the uncertain model is clarified. Further, the authors used the hierarchical method, the weighted ideal point method, restriction method, and weighted ideal point method to solve the multi-objective model. Finally, a numerical example is provided to demonstrate the feasibility of the model.

Research on evolution game of clothing enterprises’ carbon emission reduction investment considering free riding behavior

“low carbon economy” puts forward new requirements for carbon emission reduction in all links of the supply chain. This paper takes the three-level clothing supply chain composed of government, supplier and manufacturer as the research object, considering the “free riding behavior” of clothing supplier and manufacturer, by constructing the three-party evolutionary game model, using the replication dynamic equation to analyze the evolution process of the three actors, and studies the influence of parameter change on the strategy selection of each agent. Finally, the simulation is carried out by Matlab. The results show that the strategies are affected by the government’s punishment, the “free ride” revenue of suppliers and manufacturers, and the cost of carbon emission reduction investment. Finally, based on the analysis results, some suggestions are put forward for enterprises to invest in carbon emission reduction.

A production and distribution planning of perishable products with a fixed lifetime under vertical competition in the seller-buyer systems: A real-world application

Motivated by a real problem, in this paper, a new multi-period production-distribution planning (PDP) for perishable products with a fixed lifetime in a seller-buyer system is developed. The objective is to maximize the seller’s profit conditional on the optimality of the buyer in a three-level supply chain (SC), including the factories, distribution centers, and retailers. The factories and distribution centers act cooperatively at the leader level and, as the seller, make the location, production, inventory, and distribution decisions. While the retailers operate as the follower; therefore, a vertical competition is held in this SC. In addition to price, freshness owing to the perishability of the product is considered as an important competitive factor. Also, to encourage the retailers, three strategies in the development of a new demand function, including the return, discount policies, and credit period, are employed. Since the problem is NP-hard, a hierarchical heuristic approach based on Benders Decomposition Algorithm (BDA) and Genetic Algorithm (GA) is proposed. Finally, to demonstrate the applicability and efficiency of the developed model, it is applied to a real industrial case. The computational results of the problems in different sizes confirm the efficient performance of the proposed model and solution method.

A multi-objective decision-making model for supplier selection considering transport discounts and supplier capacity constraints

<p style='text-indent:20px;'>The present study considers the transport discounts and capacity constraints for the suppliers and manufacturers simultaneously to provide a multi-objective decision-making model for supplier selection on a three-level supply chain. For this purpose, it begins with presenting a nonlinear mixed-integer model of the problem, where the objectives include the minimization of the logistics costs and lead time. Subsequently, the NSGA-Ⅱ algorithm is developed to solve the large-scale model of the problem and simultaneously optimize the two objectives to achieve Pareto-optimal solutions. To test the efficiency of the proposed algorithm, several synthetic examples of various sizes are then generated and solved. Finally, the paper compares the performance of the proposed metaheuristic algorithm with the augmented epsilon-constraint method. In summary, the findings of this study provided researchers and industries to easily access to a cohesive model of supplier selection considering transportation that are essential to the solution of many real-world challenging logistics issues.</p>

Three-stage mining metals supply chain coordination and air pollutant emission reduction with revenue sharing contract

One of the main concerns of all industries such as mine industries is to increase their profit and keep their customers through improving quality level of their products; but increasing the quality of products usually releases air pollutants. Nowadays the management of air pollutant emissions with harmful environmental and health effects is one of the most pressing problems. In this paper, authors study the decision behaviour and coordination issue of a mining metal three-level supply chain with one supplier (extractor), one mineral processor and one manufacturer. We compare the decentralized and the centralized systems and reduce air pollutant emission by designing a revenue sharing contract for the mentioned decentralized supply chain under cap-and-trade regulation. Finally, a numerical example shows that the designed contract not only provides win-win condition for all supply chain members and increases whole supply chain profit but also reduces harmful air pollutant emissions in the supply chain.

Preserving relational contract stability of fresh agricultural product supply chains

<p style='text-indent:20px;'>Since agricultural cooperatives have developed rapidly under the farmland transfer policy in China, they play an important role in the new operation pattern for China's fresh agricultural product supply chains. To enhance current agricultural supply chains' stability, we consider a three-level (farmer-cooperative-retailer) fresh agricultural product supply chain, conduct quantitative analysis of the impact of the quantity flexibility contract, and compare the impact of the relational contract with that of the quantity flexibility contract on the freshness and the profit. Our results show that a suitable relational contract can improve the freshness and increase the profit of the three-level supply chain, but cannot fully guarantee its stability. Furthermore, the government's subsidy policy can improve the relational contract stability of the fresh agricultural product supply chain by providing the protection price contract mechanism of the agricultural product and the cold chain facility subsidy contract.

Three-Level Supply Chain considering Direct and Indirect Transportation Cost and Carbon Emissions

Managing sustainable supply chains has become a challenge for most industries primarily because environmental, social, and economic aspects must be taken into account, and the difficulty in satisfying customer demands for sustainability and environmental protection has been increasing globally, making sustainability the focus of numerous studies on green supply chains. Previous studies are usually only applicable to a specific product supply chain. Therefore, this paper review model that focuses on a general three-level supply chain considering direct and indirect transport and industrial carbon emissions and costs. Specifically, the model involves joint economic lot sizing considering a single set-up-multiple-delivery (SSMD) policy.

A complementarity model and algorithm for direct multi-commodity flow supply chain network equilibrium problem

In this paper, a three-level supply chain network equilibrium problem with direct selling and multi-commodity flow is considered. To this end, we first present equilibrium conditions which satisfy decision-making behaviors for manufacturers, retailers and consumer markets, respectively. Based on this, a nonlinear complementarity model of supply chain network equilibrium problem is established. In addition, we propose a new projection-type algorithm to solve this model without the backtracking line search, and global convergence result and \begin{document}$ R- $\end{document} linearly convergence rate for the new algorithm are established under weaker conditions, respectively. We also illustrate the efficiency of given algorithm through some numerical examples.

Application Genetic Algorithm In solving three-level supply chain distribution problems.

Every company cannot be separated from transportation problems, both for the procurement of raw materials or in allocating finished goods. One method that can be used to minimize transportation costs is to optimize the distribution of goods as possible, using transportation methods. Given the complexity of supply chain problems, the use of metaheuristic methods such as genetic algorithms is expected to be able to quickly resolve supply chain problems, where time is a mandatory requirement to satisfy the market. The problem in the application of genetic algorithms in this study is the distribution of three levels. This study uses 3 producers, 3 agents, 5 distributors and 7 retails. Optimal solutions were obtained from population sizes of 10, 20, and 30 with a combination of mutation probabilities, 0.1 and 0.2, crossover probabilities of 0.1 and 0.2, amounting to 100.454, by conducting experiments 20 times for each genetic parameter. The lowest cost distribution is obtained at population size 20, mutation probability 0.1 and crossover probability 0.2. Based on these results obtained goods distribution channels from each producer, agent and distributor.

Comparative Study on Output Game models of Multiple Oligopolistic Manufacturers

This paper compares two types of models from the aspects of function selection, hypothesis parameters and modeling basis, and further constructs two composite comparative yield game models to further analyze the cooperation and competition of node enterprises in the supply chain. Based on the output game model of the three-level supply chain, a kind of control system which makes the decision of distributors and retailers chaotic is constructed, and the simulation analysis and supply chain application interpretation are given.

Pricing Model for Deteriorating Items by Considering of Two Items

The main purpose of present study is to examine a three-level supply chain that comprises a manufacturer, major distributor and retailer in which two deteriorating items are manufactured. At the manufacturer level, production planning is studied. This production takes place in such a way that it can supply the needs of the wholesaler and, at the same time, prevent the increase in the rate of deteriorating of the manufactured items. At the wholesale level, warehousing management is considered in order to minimise the waste of items in the warehouse, in addition to estimating the amount of demand received by the retailer. At retail level, demand management is examined. In this paper, demand is assumed to be a linear function of price, and naturally with increasing prices, the demand decreases. The mathematical model obtained in this research is a nonlinear mathematical optimisation problem. The results of this research are generalisations of some of the mathematical models in the subject literature.

Research on Two-stage Multi-objective Integer Programming Model of Helicopter Distribution Materials in Emergency Logistics

Based on the earthquake disaster, this paper introduces the JIT just-in-time thinking of logistics management, and builds a three-level supply chain network consisting of helicopters, warehouses and material demanders. On this basis, aiming at maximizing the seismic performance, radiation range and optimal helicopter dispatching plan of the material reserve, and establishing the warehouse location and material distribution as the decision variables, a two-stage multi-objective integer programming model is established. The feasibility and effectiveness of the model are verified by specific case analysis, and the efficiency and effect of material distribution in the earthquake disaster reduction system are improved. In addition, according to the actual earthquake disaster area, the model was improved by the ant colony optimization algorithm.

Blockchain adoption for information sharing: risk decision-making in spacecraft supply chain

ABSTRACT This research studies the risk decision-making (RDM) problem faced by participants in a spacecraft supply chain, considering the adoption of the blockchain technology to facilitate information sharing. We investigate a three-level spacecraft supply chain composed of a spacecraft builder, supplier, and logistics service integrator with the Stackelberg game under the scenarios of decentralized, partially centralized, and fully centralized decision-making. For each scenario, we show how the spacecraft builder’s optimal order quantity and the supplier’s application degree of the blockchain technology change with the spacecraft builder’s risk coefficient. We also compare the overall profit of the supply chain for three decision-making scenarios.

When Prohibiting Platform Parity Agreements Harms Consumers

We consider a three-level supply chain where a monopolistic seller distributes its product both directly through its own distribution channel and indirectly through platforms accessed by intermediaries competing for final consumers. In this setting, we examine the welfare effects of platform parity agreements, namely contractual provisions according to which the seller cannot charge different prices for the same product distributed through different platforms. We find that these agreements mitigate the marginalization problem both in a wholesale and an agency model. However, only in the former model platform parity unambiguously increases consumer surplus; in the latter, it also increases the commissions paid by the monopolist to the platforms, whereby exacerbating the marginalization problem. On the net, platform parity benefits consumers in the agency model when competition between direct and indirect distribution is sufficiently intense. Interestingly, in both models consumers' preferences are always aligned with the platforms' but not with the seller's.

Supply chain management under uncertainty with the combination of fuzzy multi-objective planning and real options approaches

The concentration of this paper is to measure and break supply chain planning decisions under market and/or technical uncertainty. A three-level supply chain with manufacturers–distributors–customer’s loops is considered that customer demands, percent of back products from customers and shipping time of products from distributors to customers are considered as fuzzy variables. The main approach considers suppliers and distributor selection and determines the affected customers in the system problems simultaneously under uncertain conditions. The objects of the proposed model are maximizing the quality of products and income and minimizing the total cost and the shipping time from distributors to customers. Also, in the proposed model we consider some constraints such as lack of orders, production capacity and customer demands. Also, a two-organize, stochastic programming methodology is proposed for joining request vulnerability in multisite midterm store network arranging issues. The assessment of the normal second-stage expenses is accomplished by expository reconciliation yielding an equivalent convex mixed-integer nonlinear problem. At long last, a real options-based valuation (ROV) system for supporting under vulnerability is produced. Multistage stochastic writing computer programs are utilized to fuse vulnerability and a quantitative correlation of the ROV approach, and the customary net-present-value approach is given.