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Strategic Inventory with an Unreliable Manufacturer across Multiple Supply Chain Structures
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Strategic Inventory with an Unreliable Manufacturer across Multiple Supply Chain Structures

Wan Ke, Xiaoyang Zhou, Benjamin Lev and Wenjing Shen
Omega (Oxford), v 133, p103229
01 Jun 2025
url
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.omega.2024.103229View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Business & Economics Management Operations Research & Management Science Science & Technology Social Sciences Technology
Supply stability has become increasingly crucial amid the reshaping of global supply chains. This paper introduces a novel analytical framework to examine the retailer's strategic inventory decisions and the effects on the profits of the manufacturer and the supply chain under three supply chain structures: complete decentralization, partial centralization, and complete centralization. Utilizing a game-theoretic approach, we derive equilibrium outcomes revealing that strategic inventory enhances the manufacturer's profit under complete decentralization. In contrast, this positive effect on the manufacturer's profit is not always observed under partial centralization. Our findings also indicate that the retailer's decision to adopt strategic inventory, along with the impact on the supply chain's profit, is contingent upon the supply stability level and the unit inventory cost. We further analyze the performance of the supply chain under three structures and find that complete centralization always achieves the optimal profit when the retailer does not choose strategic inventory. However, complete centralization does not always achieve the optimal profit when the retailer adopts strategic inventory. These findings provide new insights into the role of strategic inventory across various supply chain structures.

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2 citations in Scopus

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Management
Operations Research & Management Science
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