Problem definition: We consider opportunities for cooperation at the supply level between two firms that are rivals in the end-product market. One of our firms is vertically integrated (VI), has in-house production capabilities, and may also supply its rival. The other is a downstream...

Problem Definition: Manufacturing firms are undergoing re-structuring defined by a collection of adjustments and decisions, which affect the source and destination of manufactured products throughout the firm's global supply chain network. We report on a comprehensive picture of manufacturing...

Prior experimental research shows that, in aggregate, decision makers acting as suppliers to a newsvendor do not set the wholesale price to maximize supplier profits. However, these deviations from optimal have rarely been examined at an individual level. In this study, presented with scenarios...

This paper explores the merits of hedging stochastic input costs (i.e., reducing the risk of adverse changes in costs) in a decentralized, risk neutral supply chain. Specifically, we consider a generalized version of the well-known ‘selling-to-the-newsvendor' model in which both the up-stream...

Refining is indispensable to almost every natural resource-based commodity industry. It involves a series of complex processes that transform inputs with a wide range of quality characteristics into refined finished products sold to end markets. In this paper, we take the perspective of a...

In the early onset of the pandemic, COVID-19, in the U.S., consumers experienced surprising shortages of essential, and unrelated at a first look to the pandemic, goods such as toilet paper, yeast and flour, and some of their favorite meat cuts. The “usual” explanations of “demand...

Discretionary commonality is a form of operational flexibility used in multi-product manufacturing environments. Consider a case where a firm produces and sells two products. Without discretionary commonality, each product is made through a unique combination of input and production capacity....

Problem description: Purchase costs of raw materials required in production tend to fluctuate over time. Mild cost fluctuations merely affect firms' profitability. Significant variations can lead to supply chain disruption. What are the best contracts to be used in supply chains exposed to...

We study hedging cash flow risks in a supply chain where firms invest internal funds to improve production efficiencies. We offer a decomposition framework to capture the cost reduction and flexibility effect of hedging. It allows us to understand how a firm's hedging choice depends on its...

Previous studies on horizontal outsourcing between competing duopolists emphasize cost factors such as economies of scale and/or variable cost advantages in Cournot markets as potential explanations. This paper studies horizontal outsourcing when two competing firms engage in Bertrand...