Decision and coordination of an O2O supply chain with market segmentation and showrooming effect

This paper investigates impacts of market segmentation and showrooming effect on the decision-making of an O2O supply chain, and puts forwards a contract to coordinate the O2O supply chain. Results show that, the showrooming effect is beneficial to the manufacturer, retailer and the supply chain, and the retailer will offer offline showrooming service. Under the influence of market segmentation, O2O supply chain is not necessarily better than single-channel supply chain structure. But adopting advertising and other means to improve consumers’ online channel acceptance, it can realize transformation from single-channel to O2O structure. The benefits of showrooming effect can eliminate the disadvantage of market segmentation. Moreover, a service cost sharing contract is put forward, which can perfectly coordinate the O2O supply chain with market segmentation and showrooming effect. These findings help managers to understand which channel structure is optimal by considering market segmentation and showrooming effect and identify possible pathways for them to perfectly cooperation.

Intelligent Method of Supply Chain Circulation Industry Structure Based on Machine Learning

In the deepening of supply chain competition, whether the structure of supply chain industry is reasonable and scientific has been severely tested. For warehousing, purchase and distribution channels, and customers, it largely determines whether the structure of supply chain is stable and efficient. The rationality of structure can determine the value of supply chain. By analyzing these four levels, this paper judges whether the supply chain structure is reasonable; the judgment standard is based on the three popular machine learning models, Stochastic Forest, XGBoost, and Support Vector Machine. The three models are based on a large number of real data environments. Through data simulation and parameter optimization, four supply chain characteristics are put into the model for simulation training for many times, and the three error numbers of MAE, RMSE, and MAPE of the model are analyzed to judge the reliability of the model. On this basis, through the combination of models, it is determined that the average percentage error of the combination of the three models is higher than that of the other pairwise combinations, reaching 0.937, which completes the expectation of intelligent prediction of supply chain structure.

NETWORK INTERACTIONS OF GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN MEMBERS

Supply chain structure of global enterprises tend to develop dramatically. These lead to more difficulty for enterprises in managing and building information sharing systems. Thus, it is a necessary for enterprises to limit the scope of the information sharing system by selecting essential partners. The aims of this study are to quantify the cooperation of each supply chain member, and evaluate and visualize their effects in information sharing systems in order to support policymakers in making their decisions in supply chain management. The network analytical method in network science is applied to indicate the relationship between supply chain members and present a comprehensive supply chain visually. Moreover, Motor Corporation’s topology in Japan is used as a representation of global enterprise features to analyze the relationships between supply chain members. The data for Motor Corporation is secondary data which includes the number of suppliers, manufacturers, and dealers, and the interaction among them. Data is collected and verified from reputable websites such as www.marklines.com, or www.statista.com. As a result, this study contributes by applying a new method for not only determining the impact levels of supply chain members but also giving visual descriptions of impact levels on the large-scale information sharing system.

The relationship between internal supply chain structure and operational performance: survey results from Japanese manufacturers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the roles of a supply chain management (SCM) department. To achieve that, this study empirically examines the relationship between internal supply chain structure and operational performance, using survey data collected from 108 Japanese manufacturers. Design/methodology/approach Based on a literature review of not only organizational theory but also other fields such as marketing, logistics management, operations management and SCM, this study focused on two structural properties, formalization and centralization and divided operational performance to firm-centric efficiency and customer-centric responsiveness. To examine the analytical model using these dimensions, this study conducted a structural equation modeling. Findings The correlation between centralization of operational tasks and centralization of strategic tasks, the impacts of centralization of both tasks on formalization and the effect of formalization on responsiveness performance were demonstrated. In addition, the reasons for formalization not positively influencing efficiency performance were explored through follow-up interviews. Practical implications Manufacturers need to formalize, as much as possible, a wide range of SCM tasks to realize operational excellence. To establish such formalized working methods, it is effective to centralize the authorities of both operational and strategic tasks in a particular department. In addition, inefficiency due to strict logistics service levels is a problem that all players involved in the supply chain of various industries should work together to solve. Originality/value The theoretical contribution of this study is that the authors established an empirical process that redefined the constructs of formalization and centralization, developed these measures and examined the impacts of these structural properties on operational performance.

Greenhouse Gas Emission Analysis of Integrated Production-Inventory-Transportation Supply Chain Enabled by Additive Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing (AM), owing to its unique layer-wise production method, can offer evident advantages comparing to traditional manufacturing (TM) technologies such as faster production, lower cost, and less waste. The uses of AM in rapid tooling, prototyping, and manufacturing have been innovating the current manufacturing industry from the process level to the entire supply chain. Most existing research on AM is focused on process improvement and new materials, largely neglecting the potential economic and environmental benefits enabled by AM supply chains. This research investigates an innovative supply chain structure, i.e., the integrated production-inventory-transportation (PIT) structure that is uniquely enabled by AM because of its capability of fabricating the entire product with less or even no need for assembly and labor involvement. This paper quantifies and compares the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of TM and AM-enabled PIT supply chains. The manufacturing industry is a major source of GHG emissions in the U.S., which therefore needs to be studied in order to explore opportunities for reducing GHG emissions for environmental protection. Case study results suggest that a potential reduction of 26.43% of GHG emissions can be achieved by adopting the AM-enabled PIT supply chain structure. Sensitivity analysis results show that a 20% variation in GHG emission intensity (the amount of CO2eq emissions caused by generating a unit of electricity) can lead to a 6.26% change in the total GHG emissions in the AM-enabled PIT supply chain.

Cooperation Mechanisms For A Competitive, Sustainable Food Supply Chain To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The food industry is one of the main emitters of greenhouse gases (GHG). The consumers of this industry are aware of the unpleasant consequences of GHG emissions such as global warming and climate change, so food supply chain members should consider mechanisms to reduce GHG emissions besides economic and social goals. This paper examines the impacts of the supply chain structure and cooperation methods on the goals and decisions of a sustainable food supply chain. The proposed supply chain consists of one manufacturer and two suppliers, competition, and cooperation between those studied with centralized and decentralized structures. A single-level problem is solved for the centralized supply chain in the first scenario. The decentralized structure is then considered for the other four scenarios, and bi-level programming is used to model competition and cooperation between the members. Computational results demonstrate that the maximum total profit of the supply chain among all the decentralized scenarios is obtained with the alliance of the manufacturer and the first supplier. It is found economical to increase the budget in the scenarios where the supply chain members competed with each other. Moreover, increasing production capacity and budget reduce GHG emissions for the supply chain members forming coalitions.

Coordination of a fresh agricultural product supply chain with option contract under cost and loss disruptions

This paper analyzes the option coordination problem of a fresh agricultural product supply chain under two supply chain structures, when the production cost and the loss rate are disrupted simultaneously. This paper provides the explicit option coordination conditions for the disrupted supply chain under two supply chain structures, and then explores the effects of the disruptions and supply chain structure on the option coordination conditions. The results suggest that it is unfavorable to apply the original coordinating contracts without disruptions to coordinate the disrupted supply chain. The coordination of the disrupted supply chain can be achieved with knowledge of the distribution of demand. In two coordinating contracts for the disrupted supply chain, the exercise price is still at the original level without disruptions while the option price deviates from the original level without disruptions. Moreover, the relationships of the coordination conditions in two supply chain structures depend on the value of the profit allocation coefficient. When the profit allocation coefficient exceeds (falls behind) a certain threshold, the option price is set at a higher (lower) value in the supplier-led supply chain structure than in the distributor-led supply chain structure, while the exercise price is set at a lower (higher) value in the supplier-led supply chain structure than in the distributor-led supply chain structure. Finally, the disrupted supply chain with any supply chain structure will perform better in the modified coordinating contracts than in the original coordinating contracts without disruptions.

GreatDeal and NewChicken Merger: Designing an Omni-Channel Supply Chain

In this case study, we consider the design and redesign of an omni-channel supply chain, following a merger of two existing companies. Prior to the merger, each company has their existing supply chain and operational strengths. Specifically, one company is a more established brick-and-mortar chain and the other is a web-based, e-commerce retailer. Postmerger, they need to evaluate the supply chain structure in terms of sales channels, distribution and fulfillment strategies, and inventory management (especially for three specific groups of products). The case study presents information regarding the market conditions that forced the two companies to merge and offers information to evaluate two competing proposals from senior executives regarding navigating the integration of the online and physical supply chains. The case article discusses the role of this integrated problem within a supply chain management or an inventory management course. In the case article, we present a literature review regarding the positioning of the posed problem among the existing works. We also highlight our experiences in teaching the case. The case “Teaching Note” presents a number of discussion questions depending on the usage of the case, offers answers to specific discussion questions, and provides guidance regarding classroom discussion. We also have a complementary Microsoft (MS) Excel template that can be shared with students and a complete MS Excel spreadsheet presenting the solutions.