Inventory transshipment game with limited supply: Trap or treat

Inventory transshipment is generally shown to be beneficial to retailers by matching their excess demand with surplus inventory. We investigate an inventory transshipment game with two newsvendor-type retailers under limited total supply and check whether the retailers are better off than the case without transshipment. We derive the ordering strategies for the retailers and show that unlike the unlimited supply case, a pure Nash equilibrium only exists under certain conditions. Furthermore, contrary to the conventional wisdom, we show that inventory transshipment may not always benefit both retailers. Although one of the retailers is guaranteed to be better off, the other could be worse off. The decision criteria are then provided for the retailers to determine if they will benefit from the exercise of inventory transshipment. Numerical study indicates that the carefully chosen transshipment prices play an important role in keeping inventory transshipment beneficial to both retailers. Subsequently, a coordinating mechanism is designed for the retailers to negotiate transshipment prices that maximize the total profit of the two retailers while keeping each of them in a beneficial position.     

不确定条件下装备器材供应网规划模型

装备器材供应网是装备器材供应保障工作的重要基石,其规划问题是我军装备器材保障过程的重要战略决策之一。针对节点、边和需求的不确定性,对不确定条件下由多个区域供应子网构成的装备器材供应网的规划问题展开研究。针对问题的特点,用区间分析理论对供应网规划中的不确定性因素进行度量和运算,得到不确定性规划模型,通过区间运算转化,将不确定性模型转化为确定性混合整数规划模型,并设计采用基于禁忌搜索算法的两阶段算法进行求解,分别得到了不同参数设置下的模型求解结果,并将所用算法与模糊规划和随机规划算法的求解结果进行了比较分析。实例分析结果表明所建立的模型和算法具有较强的实用性。     

面向作战任务的弹药消耗预测模型研究

针对战时弹药供应存在断供以及盲供问题,从实战情况出发,按照宏观把握与微观分析相结合的思想,在重点分析弹药消耗规律与补给特点的基础上,建立了基于消耗规律的战时弹药预测模型．以红蓝双方对抗演习为背景,以影响弹药消耗与补给的各类因素为落脚点,通过数值计算与结果对比分析,验证了预测方法的有效性,一定程度上为指挥员宏观层面上整体把握弹药消耗规律,快速制定弹药补给方案提供了重要的辅助支撑作用．     

外廊及室外平台作为安全出口的可行性分析

以大型商业综合体为例,对大型商场内建筑中部的疏散楼梯难以直接通向室外这一问题进行分析,提出将通向外廊和室外平台的出口计入安全出口,并对其可行性、设计方案及采用该设计方案时应注意的问题进行了探讨.结果表明,当外廊和室外平台满足一定的条件时,可将其计入安全出口.     

Outbound supply chain network design with mode selection and lead time considerations

We present a large‐scale network design model for the outbound supply chain of an automotive company that considers transportation mode selection (road vs. rail) and explicitly models the relationship between lead times and the volume of flow through the nodes of the network. We formulate the problem as a nonlinear zero‐one integer program, reformulate it to obtain a linear integer model, and develop a Lagrangian heuristic for its solution that gives near‐optimal results in reasonable time. We also present scenario analyses that examine the behavior of the supply chain under different parameter settings and the performance of the solution procedures under different experimental conditions. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2007     

基于险度函数的装备供应链库存风险损失度量

目前,对供应链库存风险损失的定量研究比较少,而定量研究中鲜有对风险偏好变化问题的研究,因此首先分析了各种风险度量方法,通过比较采用了险度函数作为对装备供应链风险损失的度量方法;然后,结合装备供应链实际,提出了定常风险偏好特性险度函数和可变风险偏好特性险度函数的适用范围,以及装备供应链库存风险损失度量的损失水平值,并给出了装备供应链库存风险损失度量函数;最后,通过算例进行了验证.实验结果表明:行为人的不同风险偏好特性会对同一事态产生不同的预判,进而可能影响对风险的决策,这是符合客观现实的.     

战时弹药供应协同调运模型研究

弹药协同调运是战时弹药保障工作中的重要环节,其协同调运的合理性将直接影响到弹药保障工作的顺利进行.针对弹药的调运问题,从战时技术实施与应用角度研究弹药的调运问题,以到达需求点的运输时间、弹药输送车数量以及弹药损失量为优化目标,建立一种多目标决策模型,为缩短运输时间、减少弹药输送车数量、提高安全到达需求点的弹药量提供一种实用的方法.     

Strategic obfuscation of production capacities

Recent supply‐chain models that study competition among capacity‐constrained producers omit the possibility of producers strategically setting wholesale prices to create uncertainty with regards to (i.e., to obfuscate) their production capacities. To shed some light on this possibility, we study strategic obfuscation in a supply‐chain model comprised of two competing producers and a retailer, where one of the producers faces a privately‐known capacity constraint. We show that capacity obfuscation can strictly increase the obfuscating producer's profit, therefore, presenting a clear incentive for such practices. Moreover, we identify conditions under which both producers' profits increase. In effect, obfuscation enables producers to tacitly collude and charge higher wholesale prices by moderating competition between producers. The retailer, in contrast, suffers a loss in profit, raises retail prices, while overall channel profits decrease. We show that the extent of capacity obfuscation is limited by its cost and by a strategic retailer's incentive to facilitate a deterrence. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 61: 244–267, 2014     

Impact of tax reduction policies on consumer purchase of new automobiles: An analytical investigation with real data‐based experiments

We investigate and compare the impact of the tax reduction policies implemented in the United States and China to stimulate consumer purchase of new automobiles and improve manufacturers' profits. The U.S. policy provides each qualifying consumer with a federal income tax deduction on state and local sales and excise taxes paid on the purchase price (up to a cutoff level), whereas the Chinese policy reduces the vehicle sales tax rate for consumers. We observe that these policy designs are consistent with the tax management system and the economic environment in the respective country. We analytically determine the effects of the two tax reduction policies on the automobile sales and the manufacturer's and the retailer's profits. Numerical examples are then used to provide insights on the importance of certain factors that influence the effects of the two policies. Finally, a numerical experiment with sensitivity analysis based on real data is conducted to compare the merits and characteristics of the two policies under comparable conditions. We find that the U.S. policy is better than the Chinese policy in stimulating the sales of high‐end automobiles, whereas the Chinese policy is better than the U.S. policy in improving the sales of low‐end automobiles. The U.S. policy is slightly more effective in increasing the profitability of the automobile supply chain; but, in general, the Chinese policy is more cost effective. The methodology developed herein can be used to evaluate other tax reduction policies such as those related to the purchase of energy‐saving vehicles and to serve as a decision model to guide the choice of alternative tax reduction policies. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 61: 577–598, 2014     

The single and multi‐item transshipment problem with fixed transshipment costs

This article deals with supply chain systems in which lateral transshipments are allowed. For a system with two retailers facing stochastic demand, we relax the assumption of negligible fixed transshipment costs, thus, extending existing results for the single‐item case and introducing a new model with multiple items. The goal is to determine optimal transshipment and replenishment policies, such that the total centralized expected profit of both retailers is maximized. For the single‐item problem with fixed transshipment costs, we develop optimality conditions, analyze the expected profit function, and identify the optimal solution. We extend our analysis to multiple items with joint fixed transshipment costs, a problem that has not been investigated previously in the literature, and show how the optimality conditions may be extended for any number of items. Due to the complexity involved in solving these conditions, we suggest a simple heuristic based on the single‐item results. Finally, we conduct a numerical study that provides managerial insights on the solutions obtained in various settings and demonstrates that the suggested heuristic performs very well. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 61: 637–664, 2014