Methods of vendor managed inventory control in supply chain management

By inducing the typical inventory control problem - the bullwhip effect, this paper presents vendor managed inventory (VMI) control methods on the basis of traditional methods of inventory management methods, constructs a VMI mathematics model, and analyzes the influence of VMI on inventory cost and channel profit. Finally, a special case is studied to verify that VMI is an effective supply chain strategy that can not only increase channel profit of supplier and customer but also improve full channel coordination, thereby reducing the bullwhip effect.

RESEARCH ON VALUE OF INFORMATION SHARING IN ONE SUPPLIER-MULTIPLE RETAILER SUPPLY CHAIN

Prior research has generally focused on models involving a single or multiple retailers with independent demands. The value of demand information sharing is analyzed in a two-level supply chain involving one supplier-multiple retailer model in which retailer demands may be correlated. Each member in the supply chain forecasts its demand using an AR (1) demand process. Two conditions of the information sharing are considered (1) Without the information sharing, the retailers only communicate their orders to the supplier. (2) With the information sharing, retailers communicate their orders and forecasting models to the supplier. Analyses showthat the reductions of supplier's average inventory and average costs are substantial with the information sharing. However, the retailers donot get direct benefit from the information sharing. The retailers may ask the supplier to reduce the replenishment leadtime, so that the retailers will obtain substantial cost savings and inventory reduction. Both partners may obtain benefits when information sharing and leadtime reduction are implemented together.

Coordination Model of Consumer Information Sharing in the Online Tourism Supply Chain

This is a study of the coordination model of consumer information sharing in the tourism supply chain with e-commerce platforms as the core.On the basis of considering the risks,a game theory is used to explore the information sharing effort level and the output profit of the tourism supply chain under both,centralized decision-making and decentralized decision-making.Finally,numerical simulation is used to verify the model and put forward a method of coordination for all parties in the tourism supply chain to achieve maximum profit.

Analysis of Information Sharing Mechanism in the Food Industry Green Supply Chain Management and Operation Process

In order to effectively address the issues of environmental pollution and food safety in food industry,the green supply chain management should be used in the food industry.However,information sharing is the basis of supply chain management.For this purpose,on the basis of describing the connotation of food industry green supply chain management,the paper introduces the contents and the effects of information sharing mode in detail.It focuses on the barriers of the implementation of information-sharing mechanisms in the food industry green supply chain management and operation process and analyzes the necessity of using information sharing mechanism among the members of the food industry green supply chain management mode by game theory,so as to strengthen the competitiveness of enterprises through supply chain management.

The Study on the Sharing Information in Supply Chains

In this paper, we discuss the relationship between the sharing of information of supply chains and the supply chain management; we also discuss the function of information share, and the obstacles in sharing information. As we all know, information share between enterprises in supply chains is necessary and possible, but the existence of obstacles of sharing information in supply chains is also a severe challenge in practice. This paper tries to find right ways for enterprises to build the real trade partners＇ relationship and realize transferring the information smoothly in all these three levels among the partners in supply chains.

OPTIMAL CONTRACTS IN TWO-ECHELON SUPPLY CHAIN UNDER ASYMMETRIC INFORMATION AND NONLINEAR DEMAND

The challenge for supply chain management is to create appropriate supply chain contracts so as to optimize the system performance. To examine the role of asymmetric information in a two-echelon supply chain system and derive supply chain contracts to deal with existing asymmetric information, a two level supply chain model including one Supplier and one retailer under the demand of price elasticity is developed. By using the principalagent principle and the optimal control theory, three types of supply chain contract, i. e. , a wholesale pricing contract, a two-parameter linear and a two-parameter nonlinear contracts are obtained. In these contracts, the Supplier has asymmetric information about the retailer cost structure. Simulation results show that the two-parameter contracts are more effective strategies to achieve supply chain coordination.

Inventory Management of a Plant Spare Parts Supply Chain

In spare parts industries, firms are dealing with a situation which is more and more uncertain due to the supply chain structure and variable demands. This paper presents a Bayesian approach to forecast demand and subsequently determine the appropriate parameter S of an （ S - 1 ; S） inventory system for controlling plant spare parts. We apply the Bayesian approach in an innovative way to specify the initial prior distributions of the failure rates, using the initial estimates and the failure history of similar items. According to the proposed method, a lower base stock than the one currently used is sufficient to achieve the desired service level.

Cooperative Mechanism of Supply Chain Under Asymmetric Information

The cooperative mechanism is one main issue in the decentralized supply chain system, especially in an asymmetric information structure. We analyze the non-cooperative game behavior of a 2-echelon distribution supply chain, compare the results with the system optimal solution, and give the supplier dominated cooperative mechanisms. We also analyze the validity of our contract under the asymmetric retailers' holding cost information and give some useful conclusions.

Quantity Discount Scheme in Supply Chain under Asymmetric Information

Quantity discount scheme plays an important role in supply chain management. The different quantity discount schemes under symmetric （full） information and asymmetric information, are analyzed by using principal-agent and optimal control theory. As a result, the research reveals that the optimal quantity discount solution under symmetric information is a special case of that under asymmetric information. At the same price, the critical value of quantity discount under asymmetric information is much lower than that under asymmetric information. Therefore, this leads to less cost for retailers and smaller profit for their supplier.

Study on risk analysis of supply chain enterprises

The sources of supply chain enterprise risk from different aspects including material flow, information flow, cash flow and partner relationship is analyzed. Measures for risk reduction have also been summarized from the aspects of risk sharing, information sharing, change of inventory control mode, and supply chain flexibility. Finally, problems in current research on supply chain risk management are pointed out and a discussion on future research trend is presented.

INFORMATION SHARING AND STRATEGIC SIGNALING IN SUPPLY CHAINS

Information sharing in procurement occurs in rich and varied industry contexts in which managerial decisions are made and organizational strategy is formulated. We explore how information sharing ought to work in procurement contexts that involve investments in inter-organizational information systems （IOS） and collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment （CPFR） practices. How and under what circumstances does a firm that plays the role of a supply chain buyer decide to share information on key variables, such as point-of-sale consumer demand data with its supplier, up the supply chain？ This is a key issue that crosses the boundary between supply chain management and information systems （IS） management. The answers that we provide are based on our use of a game-theoretic signaling model of buyer and supplier strategy in the presence of uncertainties about final consumer demand. We also explore the connection between operational costs that are associated with the firm＇s information sharing and information withholding strategies. Our results provide normative guidance to supply chain buyers about how to interpret different demand uncertainty scenarios to improve their decisions and generate high value. From the IS management perspective, we show the impacts on the firm of different information sharing approaches that are made possible by present day technologies.

Research on the Loss Sharing Contract in Supply Chain Under Asymmetric Information

In this study, the coordination contract of internal and external losses of supply chain under asymmetric information is studied. Firstly, the profit functions of supplier and manufacturer are established respectively. Secondly, the contract under unilateral and bilateral moral hazard is designed.Finally, a numerical example is given to analyze the coordination contract. It is proved that the overall coordination of supply chain can be achieved through loss sharing contract, and the quality level and overall profit can be improved.

The choices of channel structures and information strategies in a supply chain

This study considers the choices of channel structures and information strategies in a supply chain with demand uncertainty.The results show the following:(1)The decentralized channel structure dominates the centralized channel structure when the information strategy is given.(2)Information sharing by the downstream rival is always beneficial to the vertically integrated producer but is not necessarily detrimental to itself.In particular,information sharing increases the downstream rival’s profit in the centralized channel structure when the demand signal is relatively accurate.(3)The vertically integrated producer always benefits from the increase in forecast accuracy and the downstream rival may be worse off in some situations,which provides a theoretical ground for the“accuracy trap.”In addition,the discussions of the wholesale price commitment and the uniform pricing contracts show that the wholesale price contracts can influence the information sharing conditions of the downstream rival and the effects of strategic decentralization,eventually influencing the equilibrium strategies of channel members.

AN ALGORITHM FOR THE DETERMINATION OF THE ECONOMIC ORDER QUANTITY IN A TWO-LEVEL SUPPLY CHAIN WITH TRANSPORTATION COSTS:COMPARISON OF DECENTRALIZED WITH CENTRALIZED DECISION

This paper considers a two-level supply chain consisting of one warehouse and one retailer. In this model we determine the optimal ordering policy according to inventory and transportation costs. We assume that the demand rate by the retailer is known. Shortages are allowed neither at the retailer nor at the warehouse. We study this model in two cases; decentralized and centralized. In the decentralized case the retailer and the warehouse independently minimize their own costs; while in the centralized case the warehouse and the retailer are considered as a whole firm. We propose an algorithm to find economic order quantifies for both the retailer and the warehouse which minimize the total system cost in the centralized case. The total system cost contains the holding and ordering costs at the retailer and the warehouse as well as the transportation cost from the warehouse to the retailer. The application of this model into the pharmaceutical downstream supply chain of a public hospital allows obtaining significant savings. By numerical examples, the costs are computed in MATLAB to compare the costs in the centralized case with decentralized one and to propose a saving-sharing mechanism through quantity discount.

Downside of a carbon tax for environment:Impact of information sharing

Motivated by the observation that firms invest in carbon emissions reduction to decrease the cost of carbon tax as governments in numerous countries increasingly implement carbon tax to improve the environment,and broad researcher and practitioner agreement that carbon tax implementation always benefits the environment.However,we find that a carbon tax may actually hurt the environment based on a stylized game model with a better-informed retailer(one who controls the demand information sharing with the manufacturer)and a manufacturer.In particular,we find that the carbon emissions reduction may harm the environment if the carbon tax is moderate or both the carbon tax and the demand fluctuation are high.We further reveal free-riding behavior by the retailer,who may enjoy more profit sharing from the supply chain in the presence of carbon emissions reduction.Based on these observations,we argue that a carbon tax does not always benefit the environment when a manufacturer who receives demand information from the retailer responds better to market uncertainty.

The effect of shared auditors in the supply chain on cost stickiness

Do supply chain audits have real effects?We focus on the effect of shared auditors in the supply chain on corporate cost stickiness.When a supplier shares auditors with its customers,the shared auditors provide informational advantages for suppliers’managers,thus revising their optimistic or pessimistic expectations and influencing suppliers’cost stickiness.Using a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2017,we explore the relationship between shared auditors and suppliers’cost stickiness conditional on management expectations.The results show that shared auditors in the supply chain reduce suppliers’cost stickiness significantly when suppliers’managers hold optimistic expectations,and increase suppliers’cost stickiness in cases of pessimistic expectations.Furthermore,the greater the number of shared auditors,the stronger the effect.Such effects are more pronounced when supplier firms share auditors with important customers,have higher demand uncertainty,and use big 10 auditors.

基于BOM-Supply Hub的供应链设计模型

为探讨供应链上游环节结构变化对供应链设计的影响,根据物料清单特点,及它与供应商多层属性的相关关系,从物料清单各链节间嵌入供应中心的变化,建立起没有供应中心、单级供应中心和两级供应中心的供应链设计模型。为计算这三类混合整数规划模型,采用遗传算法进行求解。通过算例比较发现,在同一周期下,基于供应中心供应链设计,比没有供应中心供应链设计的总费用低而且库存量少。同时,基于供应中心供应链设计比没有供应中心供应链设计能抑制牛鞭效应,特别是基于两级供应中心供应链设计对抑制库存放大的效果更明显。

Distribution Inventory Cost Optimization Under Grey and Fuzzy Uncertainty

The grey fuzzy variable was defined for the two fold uncertain parameters combining grey and fuzziness factors. On the basis of the credibility and chance measure of grey fuzzy variables, the distribution center inventory uncertain programming model was presented. The grey fuzzy simulation technology can generate input-output data for the uncertain functions. The neural network trained from the inputoutput data can approximate the uncertain functions. The designed hybrid intelligent algorithm by embedding the trained neural network into genetic algorithm can optimize the general grey fuzzy programming problems. Finally, one numerical example is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the model and the hybrid intelligent algorithm.

Research on Information System of Agricultural Products based on IOT

This paper design the agricultural products circulation information system based on Internet of things, the information system in the agficultttral products circulation creative use Internet of things technology, to realize the a greater extent information sharing. The system adopts the design idea of the software SOA, it emphasizes the independence of service module. I hope this system can provide some reference to the agricultural products circulation information.

基于区块链技术的生鲜农产品溯源系统设计

当前生鲜农产品供应链体系通常采用中心化管理模式,存在不同用户之间信息不对称、缺乏实时信息共享平台以及产品来源可追溯性差等问题。为了解决这些问题,采用区块链技术作为开发框架,提出一个基于区块链技术的生鲜农产品供应链的信息共享和可追溯模型,该模型系统具有信息共享、调度实时控制、溯源机制完善等特点。通过设计智能合约算法和新型的交易提案方式,实现自动化管理生鲜农产品供应链系统,以更好地可视化展现区块链网络交易流程。使用Caliper工具进行性能测试,实验结果表明,该方案可行性高,多节点环境下系统交易时延低,同时可以保证信息安全,具备完善的交易功能。最后,选取几个现有的农产品溯源应用系统做对比分析,该方案相较于现有的农产品溯源应用系统具有更强的溯源监管能力,更高的交易可靠性,以及更好的供应链各环节节点间的数据交互性等优势。