Pricing and Retail-Servicing Decisions Under a Supply Chain Including One Manufacturer and one Retailer Applying Game Theory

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering, Golpayegan Technical and Engineering Faculty, Isfahan University of Technology, Golpayegan, Iran

2 PhD student, Faculty of Industrial Engineering, Amir Kabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

In this study, pricing and retail-servicing decisions are investigated on a dual-channel supply chain including one manufacturer and one retailer. For this reason, the game-theoretic approach is used to make the decisions under both the competitive and cooperative situations in the considered supply chain. Under the competitive situation, the players maximize their profits independently, while under the cooperative situation, the manufacturer and retailer cooperate to maximize the profit of the whole system. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the obtained results. Then, the analysis obtained from the investigated models will be presented. The results indicate that the retailer’s profit increases by increasing the price in the e-tail channel as well as by decreasing the price set by the manufacturer to the retailer. Under the competitive situation, the retail price increases as the retail services increase. The change of the retail price with respect to the retail services is greater than the change of the etail price. Under the cooperative situation, the retail price of the product increases by increasing the retail services. In addition, the change of the retail price with respect to the retail services is higher than the change of the etail price. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is performed on the considered parameters to determine the effect of the change of the parameters on the players’ profits

Keywords


  • Xu, J., Zhou, X., Zhang, J., Long, D.Z. (2019). The optimal channel structure with retail costs in a dual-channel supply chain, International Journal of Production Research, 1-29.
  • Jabarzare, N., Rasti-Barzoki, M. (2019). A game theoretic approach for pricing and determining quality level through coordination contracts in a dual-channel supply chain including manufacturer and packaging company, International Journal of Production Economics, 1074-1080.
  • Takahashi, K., Aoi, T., Hirotani, D., Morikawa, K. (2011). Inventory control in a twoechelon dual-channel supply chain with setup of production and delivery, International Journal of Production Economics, 133: 403–415.
  • Li, G., Li, L., Sethi, S.P., Guan, X. (2019). Return strategy and pricing in a dual-channel supply chain, International Journal of Production Economics, 215: 153-164.
  • Zhou, J., Zhao, R., Wang, B. (2020). Behavior-based price discrimination in a dual-channel supply chain with retailer’s information disclosure, Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 39: 1009-10
  • Batarfi, R., Jaber, M.Y., Glock, C.H. (2019). Pricing and inventory decisions in a dual-channel supply chain with learning and forgetting, Computers & Industrial Engineering, 136: 397-420.
  • Ranjan, A., Jha, J.K. (2019). Pricing and coordination strategies of a dual-channel supply chain considering green quality and sales effort, Journal of cleaner production, 218: 409-424.
  • Balasubramanian, S. (1998). Mail versus mall: a strategic analysis of competition between direct marketers and conventional retailers, Marketing Science, 17(3): 181–195.
  • Levary, R., Mathieu, R.G. (2000). Hybrid retail: integrating e-commerce and physical stores, Industrial Management, 42(5): 6–13.
  • Geyskens, I., Gielens, K., Dekimpe, M.G. (2002). The market valuation of Internet channel additions, Journal of Marketing, 66(2): 102–119.
  • Ahn, H.S., Duenyas, I., Zhang, R. (2002). Price Competition between Retailers and Manufacturer-Owned Stores, Working Paper, University of California at Berkeley.
  • Fruchter, G.E., Tapiero, C.S. (2005). Dynamic online and offline and offline channel pricing for heterogeneous customers in virtual acceptance, International Game Theory Review, 7(2): 137–150.
  • Chun, S.H., Kim, J.C. (2005). Pricing strategies in B2C electronic commerce: analytical and empirical approaches, Decision Support Systems, 40(2): 375–388.
  • Cai, G.G., Zhang, Z.G., Zhang, M. (2009). Game theoretical perspectives on dualchannel supply chain competition with price discounts and pricing schemes, International Journal of Production Economics, 117(1): 80–96.
  • Yao, D., Yue, X., Wang, X. (2005). The impact of information sharing on a returns policy with the addition of a direct channel, International Journal of Production Economics, 97(2): 196–209.
  • Yue, X., Liu, J. (2006). Demand forecast sharing in a dual-channel supply chain, European Journal of Operational Research, 174(1): 646–667.
  • Modak, N.M., Kelle, P. (2019). Managing a dual-channel supply chain under price and delivery-time dependent stochastic demand, European Journal of Operational Research, 272(1): 147-161.
  • Wang, L., Song, Q. (2020). Pricing policies for dual-channel supply chain with green investment and sales effort under uncertain demand, Mathematics and Computers in Simulation, 171: 79-93.
  • Zhu, B., Wen, B., Ji, S., Qiu, R. (2020). Coordinating a dual-channel supply chain with conditional value-at-risk under uncertainties of yield and demand, Computers & Industrial Engineering, 139: 1061-1081.
  • Dumrongsiri, A., Fan, M., Jain, A., Moinzadeh, k. (2008). A supply chain model with direct and retail channels, European Journal of Operational Research, 187(3): 691–718.
  • Yan, R.L., Pei, Z. (2009). Retail services and firm profit in a dual-channel market, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 16(4): 306–314.
  • Sarkar, A., Pal, B. (2021). Competitive pricing strategies of multi-channel supply chain under direct servicing by the manufacturer, RAIRO-Operations Research, 55: 1849-1873.
  • Salmasnia, A., Hatami, A. (2021). An integrated maintenance planning, warranty policy, technology level and pricing model considering time value of money in a three-level servicing contract, Scientia Iranica, Inpress.
  • Nash Jr, J.F. (1950). The bargaining problem, Econometrica: Journal of the Econometric Society, 155-162.