Does 'reverse factoring' - a supply chain finance solution that has recently become popular in industry - allow for operational benefits? Are the benefits automatic, or do they need to be explicitly required in the reverse factoring arrangement? We explore these questions through a periodic...

Reverse factoring—a financial arrangement where a corporation facilitates early payment of its trade credit obligations to suppliers—is increasingly popular in industry. Many firms use the scheme to induce their suppliers to grant them more lenient payment terms. By means of a periodic...

We present a mathematical model for integration, analysis, and optimization of operational and financial processes within a supply chain. Specifically, we consider commercial transactions of a large corporate customer with a small or medium-sized supplier. We show how application of reverse...

At the heart of any decision problem is some degree of "flexibility" in how to act. Most often, we aim to extract greatest possible value from this inherent flexibility. The three essays compiled here are aligned with this same general aim, but we have an important secondary concern: to...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show that market dynamics can significantly influence the lifecycle and value of a supply chain finance (SCF) arrangement. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a review of scientific and trade literature, the authors construct a model of market...

Product launch - an event when a new product debuts for production in a plant - is an important phase in product development. But launches disrupt manufacturing operations resulting in productivity losses. Using data from North-American automotive plants from years 1999-2007, we estimate that a...