Commodity prices often fluctuate significantly from one purchasing opportunity to the next. These fluctuations allow firms to benefit from forward buying (buying for future demand in addition to current demand) when prices are low. We propose a combined heuristic to determine the optimal number...

Product variety is one of the most important advantages in highly competitive markets. However, excessive product proliferation's reducing the profit margin has caused increased focus on developing a management method for maximal profit. In a closed-loop supply chain, product proliferation...

In this paper, we consider multiple manufacturers and a common retailer in a supply chain facing uncertain demand. Each manufacturer produces a different yet substitutable product sold through the common retailer, and a portion of the manufacturers sell their products through the direct channels...