Review
Engineering, Industrial
Esra Gokbayrak, Enis Kayia
Summary: With the increasing popularity of e-commerce, retailers are facing challenges in managing product returns. In order to maximize profit and minimize environmental impact, retailers need to re-evaluate their approach to dealing with returned products. Our study focuses on developing an optimal inventory control policy that takes product returns into account, and we found that considering the correlation between sales and returns can significantly increase a retailer's expected profit by 23%.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION ECONOMICS
(2023)
Article
Management
Lavanya Meherishi, Sushmita A. Narayana, K. S. Ranjani
Summary: This study focuses on the integrated lot-sizing and pricing decisions for product and secondary packaging in a profit-oriented two-stage supply chain. The research finds that decentralized channels have lower channel profits but generate less packaging waste compared to centralized channels. The study supports the notion that larger sized products can reduce packaging waste.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF OPERATIONAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Management
Dan Li, Jing Chen, Yi Liao
Summary: This paper examines the retailer's customer returns policy strategy, pricing and ordering decisions in a supply chain selling seasonal products over two periods. The study shows that customer returns can serve as a substitute for inventory, and the choice of returns policy can impact the retailer's decision to carry over strategic inventory from one period to the next. Additionally, it is identified that an MBG returns policy may not always be the dominant strategy, depending on the option to carry strategic inventory.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF OPERATIONAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Business
Danni Zhang, Regina Frei, Gary Wills, Enrico Gerding, Steffen Bayer, Prince Kwame Senyo
Summary: Product returns in retail have negative environmental impacts and lead to increased waste. Retailers lack awareness and a comprehensive approach to addressing these impacts. Strategies and a framework for reducing the environmental impact of returns are proposed.
BUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Rachel Lacroix, Anna Timonina-Farkas, Ralf W. Seifert
Summary: Additive manufacturing (AM) is increasingly used for custom final part production, but printing speed and production volume are barriers for large-scale adoption. This paper proposes integrating AM with traditional mass customization (MC) technologies to address these challenges. The results demonstrate that combining AM with MC can benefit manufacturers in customer-centric strategies, leading to significant profit improvements.
JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT MANUFACTURING
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Hamidreza Abedsoltan, Ata Allah Taleizadeh, R. Bhaba Sarker
Summary: This paper explores models and strategies for the collaboration and co-branding of luxury brands with other companies in order to produce remanufactured products. It investigates the coordination of these strategies in producing remanufactured products, suggesting that luxury brands should collaborate with companies with larger market share to expand their own market share. The paper also emphasizes the importance of giving a specific name to the remanufactured product to maintain customer perception and prevent brand switching. Additionally, the study describes different advertising methods for expanding sales and provides insights for developing a new brand.
COMPUTERS & INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Industrial
Ben A. A. Chaouch
Summary: The purpose of this paper is to expand the existing EOQ-type models by incorporating uncertain product returns. The study presents an inventory control problem with deterministic demand and Poisson process for product returns. A level-crossing approach is used to derive a closed-form expression for the expected ordering and inventory holding costs in terms of order size and other relevant parameters.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Industrial
Hussein Tarhini, Bacel Maddah, Ahmad Shmayssani
Summary: This article investigates the decision-making process of assortment, inventory, and pricing for substitutable products that are differentiated by various attributes. By utilizing a nested logit consumer choice model, the study shows that the expected profit is uni-modal in the common profit margin of products in a given assortment. Additionally, the research examines the impact of inventory on pricing and presents a heuristic approach based on equal profit margins and popular sets.
Review
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Kamrul Ahsan, Shams Rahman
Summary: This study conducts a systematic literature review of e-tail product returns research and summarizes the findings. The study reveals that e-tail returns is a new research area and academics have started to investigate different aspects of e-tail returns using various research methodologies and theoretical foundations. Further research is needed in leading e-commerce countries and on key areas such as omni-channel returns management, customer satisfaction and service, and the impact of resources and technology in managing e-tail returns.
INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT & DATA SYSTEMS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Yiming Li, Gang Li, Xiajun Amy Pan
Summary: We analyze return shipping insurance (RSI) policies on platforms like JD.com and Taobao.com, where retailers can offer RSI to consumers (RRSI) or allow consumers to purchase RSI themselves (CRSI). The decision to buy CRSI may be influenced by post-purchase regret. Our study investigates the optimal RSI policy for a monopolistic online retailer and insurer, finding that RRSI is offered when return handling costs are low and return shipping costs are moderate, while strong consumer propensity for regret drives the purchase of CRSI. Interestingly, under the optimal RRSI policy, the retailer charges higher prices but experiences expanded consumer demand, while the optimal CRSI policy results in lower prices but decreased demand. Counterintuitively, CRSI can be a win-win-win policy for retailers, insurers, and consumers.
PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Management
Jiayun Wang, Stephen Shum, Gengzhong Feng
Summary: This study investigates the supplier's optimal pricing strategy in the presence of consumer reviews and retailer's strategic inventory. The results suggest that the supplier's optimal wholesale price may decrease with the product quality, and changes in consumer likelihood to write reviews should also be considered.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF OPERATIONAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Industrial
Mostafa Moussa, Hoda ElMaraghy
Summary: Forming product platforms is an effective strategy to meet changing customer demands. This study presents a model for customizing product platforms using additive and subtractive manufacturing, and designs optimal multi-period additive/subtractive product platforms while managing their inventory.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Management
Kevin Sweeney, Philip T. Evers, Yongrui Duan, Robert Windle
Summary: Larger product assortments can have positive effects on sales but negative effects on operational performance for firms. This research examines the impact of product variety on firm performance in a retail setting. The findings show that the effects of product variety differ across hedonic and utilitarian product categories, and the decision to offer product variety is also influenced by the nature of the product category. Implications for theory and retail management are discussed.
JOURNAL OF BUSINESS LOGISTICS
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Chong Xin, Yunzhu Zhou, Minghe Sun, Xin Chen
Summary: This study investigates the purchasing strategies, pricing decisions, and incentive mechanism for a two-echelon green product supply chain. Both the manufacturer and the retailer can benefit from producing and selling the green product, and the two purchasing opportunity strategy is superior in improving performance.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2022)
Article
Management
Xuxu Liu, Da Zhao, Qingkai Ji, Yinlian Zeng, Xiangpei Hu
Summary: This paper investigates the impact of retailer-to-retailer competition on strategic inventory in a two-tier supply chain. The results show that competition weakens the motivation for retailers to hold strategic inventory, but lower holding costs still stimulate them to hold it for higher profits. Under a uniform wholesale price strategy, prisoner's dilemma and chicken game equilibrium may occur between two competing retailers, but these equilibria can be eliminated under a differentiated wholesale price strategy. This strategy promotes cooperation between retailers and benefits all parties involved.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF OPERATIONAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Operations Research & Management Science
Rob A. Zuidwijk, Albert W. Veenstra
TRANSPORTATION SCIENCE
(2015)
Article
Management
M. Pourakbar, R. A. Zuidwijk
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF OPERATIONAL RESEARCH
(2018)
Review
Economics
Anirudh Kishore Bhoopalam, Niels Agatz, Rob Zuidwijk
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH PART B-METHODOLOGICAL
(2018)
Article
Operations Research & Management Science
Alp M. Arslan, Niels Agatz, Leo Kroon, Rob Zuidwijk
TRANSPORTATION SCIENCE
(2019)
Article
Engineering, Industrial
Rommert Dekker, Cerag Pince, Rob Zuidwijk, Muhammad Naiman Jalil
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION ECONOMICS
(2013)
Article
Operations Research & Management Science
Leo G. Kroon, Leon W. P. Peeters, Joris C. Wagenaar, Rob A. Zuidwijk
TRANSPORTATION SCIENCE
(2014)
Article
Economics
Hamid Saeedi, Behzad Behdani, Bart Wiegmans, Rob Zuidwijk
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH PART E-LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORTATION REVIEW
(2019)
Article
Economics
Yun Fan, Behzad Behdani, Jacqueline Bloemhof-Ruwaard, Rob Zuidwijk
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH PART E-LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORTATION REVIEW
(2019)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Panagiotis Ypsilantis, Rob Zuidwijk
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Anastasia Roukouni, Heide Lukosch, Alexander Verbraeck, Rob Zuidwijk
Article
Economics
Hamid Saeedi, Bart Wiegmans, Behzad Behdani, Rob Zuidwijk
JOURNAL OF TRANSPORT GEOGRAPHY
(2017)
Article
Business
Hamid Saeedi, Bart Wiegmans, Behzad Behdani, Rob Zuidwijk
RESEARCH IN TRANSPORTATION BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT
(2017)
Article
Economics
T. Hjortnaes, B. Wiegmans, Rr. Negenborn, R. A. Zuidwijk, R. Klijnhout
JOURNAL OF TRANSPORT GEOGRAPHY
(2017)
Article
Transportation
Behzad Behdani, Yun Fan, Bart Wiegmans, Rob Zuidwijk
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE RESEARCH
(2016)
Proceedings Paper
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Erik Giesen, Wolfgang Ketter, Rob Zuidwijk
MULTIAGENT SYSTEM TECHNOLOGIES, MATES 2015
(2015)