Abstract
The trend of engaging in the Internet-based direct sales has raised serious awareness and attention, both in industry and in academia, to the opportunities and challenges of using both integrated and nonintegrated distribution channels simultaneously. In this chapter, we investigate the impact of the interplay between customers’ channel preference and distribution costs on the supply chain channel design for a manufacturer that can sell through a retailer and directly to consumers. We develop economic/game-theoretical models to obtain insights and implications for the channel design problem. By comparing the profitability of three types of channel distribution strategies (retail-only distribution, dual-channel distribution, and direct-only distribution) under different scenarios, we disclose the optimal supply-chain channel design from the manufacturer’s perspective. The analytical results are presented for both centralized and decentralized supply chains.
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Chiang, Wy.K., Chhajed, D. (2005). Multi-Channel Supply Chain Design in B2C Electronic Commerce. In: Geunes, J., Pardalos, P.M. (eds) Supply Chain Optimization. Applied Optimization, vol 98. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-26281-4_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-26281-4_5
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-26280-2
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