Supply Chain Coordination Research Based On Strategic Customer Behavior

When making shopping decisions, customers will examine different options and choose the best one to maximize their utilities. This kind of customer behavior is referred to as Strategic Customer Behavior. However, strategic customer behavior is overlooked in extant supply chain coordination literature. By magnifying customer demand which was simplified in the past, this dissertation improves supply chain coordination theory. Many aspects of supply chain coordination problem are investigated based on strategic customer behavior. The main work and insights of the dissertation include:(1) Base on strategic customer behavior, the impact of Most-Favored-Customer agreements on newsvendor is studied. By analyzing Most-Favored-Customer agreements in newsvendor model, the influence of intensity of price difference reimbursement on vendor's profit is probed. Adoption of Most-Favored-Customer agreements increases the profit of the newsvendor. Nevertheless, the newsvendor's profit decreases when the intensity of price difference reimbursement increases.(2) Supply chain two-part tariff coordination mechanism is studied based on strategic customer behavior. Through analyzing the optimal ordering quantity of the seller, the two-part tariff between the manufacturer and the seller is investigated. Conventional supply chain knowledge generally considers that the wholesale price within the two-part tariff should equal manufacturer's marginal production cost. But the wholesale price here should be set above manufacturer's marginal production cost, due to the existence of strategic customers.(3) Product availability and supply chain performance under wholesale-price contract, quantity-discounting contract and two-part tariff are studied based on strategic customer behavior. Two-part tariff improves supply chain profits, while high profit is accompanied by high product availability. However, the supply chain under wholesale price contract or quantity discounting contract hasn't achieved the profit level made by centralized supply chain.(4) Based on strategic customer behavior, the value of quick response in supply chains is investigated in the frame of centralized supply chain and decentralized supply chain. The value of quick response is great in the presence of strategic customers. Moreover, quick response yields more profit in decentralized supply chain than in centralized supply chain. (5) Based on strategic customer behavior and risk preference, supply chain profit-sharing contract is investigated. By adopting the backward induction approach of sequential game, the impact of strategic customer behavior and risk preference on supply chain coordination is studied in two dimensions. The seller'profit decreases as customer's risk preference increases, and the seller would have to lower product price and initial inventory so as to mitigate profit reduction.