Can retailers get higher prices for “end-of-life” inventory through online auctions?

Manufacturers and retailers are using online auctions to liquidate excess inventory. Using a field study of 11,879 online auctions, this paper builds upon theories of competitive processes to relate four key seller-controlled variables (starting price, day of close, auction length, and brand) to outcomes of online auction for apparel goods. Results suggest that to obtain a higher percentage of the original retail price, retailers should start with a lower price and feature national brands. These and other findings are discussed and a number of future research topics are offered.     

质量记录重要性的研究

质量记录作为质量体系的成果之一,具有重要的作用。本文从质量体系运行、产品实现以及测量、分析和改进三个角度论述了质量记录的作用。     

Games with incomplete information: A simplified exposition with inventory management applications

In most existing literature in supply chain management it is assumed that the players possess complete information about the game, i.e., the players' payoff (objective) functions are assumed to be common knowledge. For static and dynamic games with complete information, the Nash equilibrium and subgame perfect equilibrium are the standard solution concepts, respectively. For static and dynamic games with incomplete information, the Bayesian Nash equilibrium and perfect Bayesian equilibrium, respectively, are used as solution concepts. After presenting a brief review of the static and dynamic games under complete information, the application of these two games in inventory management is illustrated by using a single-period stochastic inventory problem with two competing newsvendors. Next, we illustrate the Bayesian Nash and perfect Bayesian equilibrium solution concepts for the static and dynamic games under incomplete information with two competing newsvendors. The expository nature of our paper may help researchers in inventory/supply chain management gain easy access to the complicated notions related to the games played under incomplete information.     

Managing inventory with two suppliers under yield uncertainty and risk aversion

In this paper, we consider a single-product single-period inventory model in which the retailer can source from two suppliers. The primary supplier is cheaper but unreliable in the sense that it generates supply yield uncertainty, whereas the secondary supplier is perfectly reliable but more expensive. The reliable supplier's capacity is fixed and the retailer cannot order more than the quantity reserved in advance. We study the problem in the context of a risk-averse retailer who has to determine the optimal order quantity from the primary supplier and the optimal reserved quantity from the secondary supplier. We develop the model in the perspective of a low risk averse retailer and quantify the risk via an exponential utility function. We show by numerical experiments how the resulting dual sourcing strategies differ from those obtained in the risk-neutral analysis. We also examine the sensitivity of some model-parameters on the optimal decisions.     

An inventory control model with consideration of remanufacturing and product life cycle

This paper investigates inventory control policies in a manufacturing/remanufacturing system during the product life cycle, which consists of four phases: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. Both demand rate and return rate of products are random variables with normal distribution; the mean of the distribution varies according to the time in the product life cycle. Closed-form formulas of optimal production lot size, reorder point, and safety stock in each phase of the product life cycle are derived. A numerical example is presented with sensitivity analysis. The result shows that different inventory control policies should be adopted in different phases of the product life cycle. It is also found that the optimal production lot size and reorder point are not sensitive to the phase length and the demand changing rate.     

CONSUMER DIRECT FULFILLMENT PERFORMANCE IN INTERNET RETAILING: EMERGENCY TRANSSHIPMENTS AND DEMAND DISPERSION

The collaborative fulfillment of consumer orders by Internet retailers and wholesalers has proven important in the realization of sustainable levels of online profitability. Concentrating on consumer direct fulfillment (or drop shipping), an empirical simulation model evaluates avenues for improving logistical performance. The empirical simulation model centers on the online music CD retailing industry. It evaluates the effects of emergency transshipments and demand dispersion on inventory and product‐release performance, as well as on transportation costs, in consumer direct fulfillment operations. Results show that emergency transshipments improve inventory and product‐release performance in these operations. Furthermore, the inventory‐performance improvements are maximized when inventory facilities fulfill demand that is uniformly balanced across markets primarily assigned to each facility. Finally, gains in inventory and release performance obtained from emergency transshipments outweigh additional transportation costs incurred from a greater reliance on emergency transshipments for consumer direct fulfillment.     

LINUX平台下IP动态分配安全管理

根据LINUX下动态分配1P数据文件的特点,通过编写shell程序,解决动态分配1P与网络安全管理1P的矛盾。     

基于关联规则挖掘电子商务网站数据采集

关联规则挖掘在Web站点中的应用目的是为了发现不同商品在交易过程中的潜在联系,这些规则反应了顾客购买行为习惯,可以用来指导商家科学地安排进贷、库存以及贷架设计等。在本文中以网上书店为例探讨如何规划网站功能,规划数据库,如何采集用户信息以及用户在访问站点时的浏览记录和消费记录。