Optimal procurement mechanisms for divisible goods with capacitated suppliers

Procurement auction literature typically assumes that the suppliers are uncapacitated [see, e.g. Dasgupta and Spulber in Inf Econ Policy 4:5–29, 1990 and Che in Rand J Econ 24(4):668–680, 1993]. Consequently, the auction mechanisms award the contract to a single supplier. We study mechanism design in a model where suppliers have limited production capacity, and both the marginal costs and the production capacities are private information. We provide a closed-form solution for the revenue maximizing direct mechanism when the distribution of the cost and production capacities satisfies a modified regularity condition [Myerson in Math Oper Res 6(1):58–73, 1981]. We also present a sealed low bid implementation of the optimal direct mechanism for the special case of identical suppliers. The results in this paper extend to other principle-agent mechanism design problems where the agents have a privately known upper bound on allocation. The authors would like to thank the anonymous referees for valuable suggestions and comments.     

Managing the global supply base through purchasing portfolio management

‘How to source globally’ has become a critical strategic decision for companies competing on a global basis. Despite an increased focus on global sourcing and supply chain management, little is known about the challenges and solutions surrounding such sourcing practices. Extant literature points at the critical importance of developing and sharing knowledge in multinational companies (MNCs). However, little work has been undertaken to examine the organizational mechanisms used by MNC headquarters for knowledge leveraging across subsidiaries, especially in the area of purchasing and supply management. Based on an in-depth case study, focusing on a chemical company, the actual buying systems for managing the global supply base are explored. Kraljic's purchasing portfolio approach appears useful, both for developing effective purchasing strategies as well as for managing a global supply base.     

Supplier development and cost management in Southeast Asia—Results from a field study

This paper is about supplier development when international companies have production sites in Southeast Asia and look for opportunities to switch from international suppliers to local suppliers. We conducted a field study involving site visits to companies in Thailand and Vietnam, and interviews at corporate supply chain departments. Some key observations are: cost management was a dominant motive for taking local supplier development initiatives. Furthermore, local sourcing and local supplier development were important for international companies to improve access to local customer markets. Firms deliberately assessed whether a particular supplier would likely be able to improve sufficiently to warrant investing in supplier development, which typically involved a combination of initiatives, requiring the international firm to take considerable efforts. Local sourcing strategies and priorities for supplier development initiatives tended to focus on items with low supply risk and low volume. These findings are discussed based on transaction cost economics, and we suggest that firms use several ways to reduce the risk of transaction-specific investments in supplier development initiatives.     

Quantity precommitment and price-matching

We study the effects of price-matching in a capacity-constrained duopoly setting. We show that no firm does worse at any pure equilibrium under price-matching relative to Bertrand, but as capacity increases, one or both firms do better relative to Bertrand. If the firms choose their capacities simultaneously before making pricing decisions, then the effect of price-matching varies with the cost of capacity. Specifically, when the cost is “high” price-matching either (i) has no effect on the market price, i.e., the market price associated with the pure SPEs is the Cournot one, or (ii) weakly decreases the market price relative to Cournot. Furthermore, when the cost is “low” price-matching leads to a set of (pure) SPE prices that includes the Cournot price in the interior. Therefore, price-matching does not necessarily benefit the firms when firms select their capacities before competing in price.     

Reputational risk as a factor in the offshore location choice

Drawing on extant literature and eight case firms, this paper explores reputational risk as an essential factor in selecting offshore locations. By categorizing and aggregating insights from the empirical data and the relevant literature, the paper identifies country reputational risk as a factor determining the firm's propensity to exclude specific offshore locations. However, its effect is contingent upon managers' interpretation of the critical elements of the business environment in a particular country. Thus, the study contributes by demystifying the role of ‘managerial inputs’, which are often neglected within international sourcing literature. Further, reputational risk is delineated as a higher-order construct comprised of three lower-order constructs: unethical practices, institutional weakness, and quality concerns. Our findings distinguish reputational risk from the CSR framework because the dimensions of reputational risk identified in this study transcend beyond the governance, ethics, environmental and social spheres of CSR. This way, the study contributes to a holistic representation of reputational risk that can allow researchers to match its broad predictors with broad outcomes.     

企业物流外包文献综述

以国内外物流外包相关文献为基础,首先提出企业物流外包的定义。然后论述了物流服务提供商的四种选择方式。并详细地分析了采用物流外包策略,可能给企业带来的风险。最后根据上述的风险提出相应的防范措施。     

物流中断风险分析与对策研究

物流企业运营过程中会遇到很多种风险,某些风险会导致物流中断。这些风险不仅包括一些导致物流中断、财产损失和人身伤亡的纯粹风险,还有经营风险、财务风险、投资风险、客户流失风险、人力资源管理风险等。由于风险管理主要关注的是纯粹风险。文章用风险管理的思想来研究物流中断的风险,包括物流中断的风险识别、分析、评价和风险的控制措施和持续改进的建议。     

基于信任的供应链中断风险研究综述

文中通过信任在供应链中断风险现状中的理论和实证两方面的综述,发现信任能够降低企业间的交易成本、促进信息共享和长远合作。同时,信任与风险正相关关系,合理地防御信任带来的供应链风险,能够为核心企业和供应商创造大量商业价值和提高供应链企业共同防御风险的能力。文中指出了进一步的研究方向：①信任维护成本的问题;②供应链联盟的信任机制问题;③供应链中断风险的实证研究问题。