A fair cost allocation scheme is critical for forming and sustaining horizontal cooperation that leads to cost reductions. In order to incentivize suppliers to cooperate in freight consolidation, we design a cost-sharing mechanism to solve a cost allocation problem arising in freight consolidation among small suppliers: that is, suppliers whose total demand fits into one truckload. This cost-sh...

In IT outsourcing alliances, the service suppliers acquire significant capabilities through repeated interaction with a variety and multitude of clients. This learning process is especially critical for the survival and growth of suppliers that are in the early or expansionary stages of their lifecycle. This research focuses on the dynamic strategy process by which suppliers acquire capabilitie...

E-business technologies present unique opportunities and challenges for businesses, and Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are no exception. However, there is a rich body of the e-business literature concentrates on adoption concerns from SMEs buyers’ viewpoint, little research has so far been reported from the viewpoint of SME suppliers. Participation of SME suppliers needs to be ensured in ord...

As firms increasingly outsource to focus on their core competencies, effective supplier development has become a major strategic decision in order to maintain a network of competent suppliers. Supplier development can be seen as a capability-enhancing activity that an organization undertakes to improve its suppliers’ performance. This study conceptualizes supplier development as a knowledge-int...

Adoption of e-business technologies among Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) has enormous potentials. However, much of the current e-business literature to date concentrates on adoption concerns from SME buyers’ perspective, little research has so far been reported from the viewpoint of SME suppliers. Participation of SME suppliers needs to be ensured in order to exploit the full potenti...

Finding most promising suppliers based on consistency with the overall goals of buyers’ companies is of great importance where different small buyers are dependent on large suppliers. Here, the authors attempt to model and implement an e-supply network considering the buyer-buyer-supplier triadic. This approach facilitates horizontal information exchange among buyers in sharing their experience...

We study the effects of credit risk in a supply chain where one retailer deals with competing risky suppliers who may default during their production lead-times. The suppliers, who compete for business with the retailer by establishing wholesale prices, are leaders in a Stackelberg game with the retailer. The retailer, facing uncertain future demand, chooses order quantities while weighing the ...

BACKGROUND Products in corner stores may be affected by the network of suppliers from which storeowners procure food and beverages. To date, this supplier network has not been well characterized. METHODS Using network analysis, we examined the connections between corner stores (n = 24) in food deserts of Baltimore City (MD, USA) and their food/beverage suppliers (n = 42), to determine how dif...

We consider a contract manufacturer who procures multiple components from independent suppliers to produce an assemble-to-order customized product for a client. The unit price of the product depends on the manufacturer’s delivery lead time. We explore how the manufacturer can use a “Vendor Managed Consignment Inventory (VMCI)” scheme to manage the underlying risk and coordinate independent supp...

Supplier selection and evaluation is increasingly seen as a strategic issue for companies. Unlike the past, an emerging trend is to select suppliers where a long-term relationship is desired and supplier involvement in product development is required and to sort suppliers into categories based on performances. This paper describes a supplier evaluation and management methodology for strategic s...