非缺陷退货情形下的供应链协调

Supply Chain Coordination with False Failure Returns

非缺陷退货指的是没有功能或质量上的缺陷却被客户退给零售商的产品。非缺陷退货造成的成本相当惊人,且主要由生产商承担,然而,减少非缺陷退货则主要靠零售商的努力和投入。本文研究了怎样通过供应链协调来减少非缺陷退货。本文介绍国外学者提出的一种“目标补偿”合同,即当非缺陷退货量低于某一特定目标值时,生产商将对低于目标值的每单位非缺陷退货量支付一定的补偿金。这种合同能有效地激励零售商加大努力来降低非缺陷退货,从而提高整条供应链的期望利润,研究表明,该合同在大多数情形下是Pareto改进的,在某些情形下对生产商和零售商都有利。

False failure returns are products which are returned to retailers by customers without functional or quality defect. The cost of a false failure return is significant and is incurred primarily by the manufacturer. However, reducing false failure returns requires efforts primarily by the retailer. We research the problem of reducing the false failure returns by supply chain coordination methods. We introduce a target rebate contract presented by foreign researcher, which pays the retailer a specific sum per each unit false failure return below a predetermined target. This contract provides an incentive to the retailer to increase her effort, thus decreasing the number of false failure returns and increasing the expected profit of the whole supply chain. Our research shows this contract is Pareto-improving in most cases and is beneficial to both manufacturer and retailer in some specific cases.