1,721,035 research outputs found
Coordination of closed-loop supply chains by a contract: a quantitative analysis for single-period products
No full text
Coordination of Closed-loop Supply Chains by a Contract: A Quantitative Analysis for Single-period Products
No full textThis paper aims at designing a supply contract to coordinate a closed-loop supply chain for a single-period product. The model addresses a supply chain wherein a supplier with infinite capacity serves a retailer facing a random demand. The retailer offers two purchasing options to the customers, who are assumed price-sensitive: to buy the product at (i) full price or (ii) discounted price but giving back the worn-out one. Depending on the nature of the returned item, the retailer can either sell it on a secondary market or transfer it to the supplier, still receiving money in return. Both the optimal order quantity and the optimal discount coefficient are analytically defined in two standard settings - named centralized and decentralized - and in four contract-based settings. The centralized setting aims at maximizing the overall utility regardless of how this is shared along the supply chain. Under the decentralized setting, actors make decision independently. The contract-based settings (which define diverse ways to share the salvage and recovery values between the actors) are based on two parameters, which make both actors benefit from the coordination: a wholesale price, which is agreed by the actors, and a sharing factor that establishes the quota of the retailer's revenue that is passed up to the supplier. Under the contract agreements, individual as well as supply chain expected profits are analytically defined and compared with those obtained under the other settings to prove the achievement of channel coordination and the win-win conditions
Inventory Management in Supply Chains: A Reinforcement Learning Approach
No full textA major issue in supply chain inventory management is the coordination of inventory policies adopted by different supply chain actors, such as suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, so as to smooth material flow and minimize costs while responsively meeting customer demand. This paper presents an approach to manage inventory decisions at all stages of the supply chain in an integrated manner. It allows an inventory order policy to be determined, which is aimed at optimizing the performance of the whole supply chain. The approach consists of three techniques: (i) Markov decision processes (MDP) and (ii) an artificial intelligent algorithm to solve MDPs, which is based on (iii) simulation modeling. In particular, the inventory problem is modeled as an MDP and a reinforcement learning (RL) algorithm is used to determine a near optimal inventory policy under an average reward criterion. RL is a simulation-based stochastic technique that proves very efficient particularly when the MDP size is large
Global manufacturing: a review and a framework for planning in a global corporation
No full textThe variability and complexity of the global manufacturing scenario emphasize the relevance of two management problems that most Multinational Corporations (MNCs) face, namely the configuration as well as the coordination of the network of global facilities. In this paper we review the literature on these problems, and identify the need for a systematic approach to the coordination problem. The paper also focuses on the issues of coordination in the area of logistics (i.e. supply, manufacturing and distribution phases) of global manufacturing networks. Based on some recent studies on global coordination, we define a framework that systematically addresses the global manufacturing planning (GFAP) problem by identifying and classifying the variables involved therein
The implications of joint adoption of revenue sharing and advance booking discount programs
No full textConsider a supply chain that consists of a supplier and a retailer, who sells a single product to the customers over a short selling season. In this paper, we present a model in which the supply chain partners participate in two different programs: (1) the supplier and the retailer enter a revenue sharing (RS) contract and (2) the retailer offers an advance booking discount (ABD) program to the customers. Under the RS scheme, the retailer shares a portion of the selling price to the supplier in return for a lower wholesale price. The ABD program is intended to use price discount to entice customers to pre-commit their orders. Besides demand increases, the ABD program allows the retailer to use the pre-committed orders to develop more accurate forecasts. By examining our model, we determine the optimal decisions associated with these two programs including the optimal price discount, optimal order quantity. We analyse the optimal expected channel profit associated with the four possible scenarios wherein each program is offered or not. We also provide a detailed numerical example to illustrate the conditions under which the benefit of the joint adoption of RS and ABD programs is higher than the sum of the benefits associated with separate adoptions of these two program
The organization of eco-industrial parks and their environmental and social practices
No full textEco-industrial parks, industrial symbiosis, industrial ecologyPurpose – Eco-Industrial Parks (EIPs) are defined as industrial clusters wherein a
community of firms linked in a network of collaborative relationships exploit new
business opportunities so as to increase their economic performance, by minimizing the
environmental impact and creating benefits for the local community (Côté and Cohen-
Rosenthal, 1998). A number of EIPs have recently spread in both developed and
developing countries, with specific features and various degrees of success. Despite such
a variety, the common driver for these initiatives is the awareness that industrial
symbiosis on materials and energy may be beneficial for both the companies and the
environment (Yang and Lay, 2004). The aim of this paper is to characterize EIPs and
identify specific typologies for them. For this purpose we propose a framework based on
relevant literature and articulated in three dimensions, namely organizational,
environmental, and social.
Design/methodology/approach – To apply the framework, we consider a number of
heterogeneous initiatives of EIPs, located in Europe, North America, and developing
countries, and characterize them in accordance with the developed framework. In
particular, assessing the variables of the framework we describe the organizational
structure of EIPs as well as the adoption of practices related to the environmental
sustainability and social responsibility. Once we have characterized these cases, we apply
the cluster analysis to group them according to the organizational dimension: we identify
the emerging clusters as specific types of EIPs. Then, we repeat the cluster analysis on the
other dimensions to assess the way environmental and social practices are implemented.
Originality/value – Although there are several examples of EIPs in developed countries
as well as in emerging economies, and the attendant literature provides some guidelines
for the establishment of EIPs, to our knowledge there is a lack of studies that aim at
assessing possible linkages between the organizational structure of an EIP and its
environmental and social practices This study is a first attempt to address this issue.
Practical implications – The research findings can support the policy makers in defining
the organizational characteristics of EIPs that allow to foster the environmental and social
performance of EIPs
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