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Analysis and design of returns policies from a supplier's perspective

Author

Listed:
  • H Wang

    (University of Salford)

  • W Wang

    (University of Salford)

  • K A H Kobaccy

    (University of Salford)

Abstract

This paper considers the problem of designing a returns policy in a supply chain from a supplier's perspective. The supply chain considered here is assumed to have one supplier and one retailer who serves a random demand of a product with a short life cycle. The retailer can return all the unsold products to the supplier with a partial refund. We found that if the retailer behaviour is rational, that is, ordering the optimal quantity to maximize its expected profit, then both retailer and supplier could benefit from the returns policy. Furthermore, we established that the optimal buyback price is independent of the mean of the random demand, but the variance of the demand has a significant impact on setting the optimal buyback price. The higher the variance the higher the optimal buyback price and the larger the profit gain of both parties. Numerical studies are employed to help understand the benefits of returns policies for the supplier, the retailer, and the whole supply chain.

Suggested Citation

  • H Wang & W Wang & K A H Kobaccy, 2007. "Analysis and design of returns policies from a supplier's perspective," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 58(3), pages 391-401, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:jorsoc:v:58:y:2007:i:3:d:10.1057_palgrave.jors.2602157
    DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jors.2602157
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hamilton Emmons & Stephen M. Gilbert, 1998. "Note. The Role of Returns Policies in Pricing and Inventory Decisions for Catalogue Goods," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 44(2), pages 276-283, February.
    2. Andy A. Tsay, 1999. "The Quantity Flexibility Contract and Supplier-Customer Incentives," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(10), pages 1339-1358, October.
    3. Martin A. Lariviere & Evan L. Porteus, 2001. "Selling to the Newsvendor: An Analysis of Price-Only Contracts," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 3(4), pages 293-305, May.
    4. Lau, Hon-Shiang & Lau, Amy Hing-Ling, 1999. "Manufacturer's pricing strategy and return policy for a single-period commodity," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 116(2), pages 291-304, July.
    5. Suresh Sethi & Houmin Yan & Hanqin Zhang, 2005. "Analysis of a Duopoly Supply Chain and its Application in Electricity Spot Markets," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 135(1), pages 239-259, March.
    6. Barry Alan Pasternack, 1985. "Optimal Pricing and Return Policies for Perishable Commodities," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 4(2), pages 166-176.
    7. Scott Webster & Z. Kevin Weng, 2000. "A Risk-free Perishable Item Returns Policy," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 100-106, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lauren Skinner Beitelspacher & Thomas L. Baker & Adam Rapp & Dhruv Grewal, 2018. "Understanding the long-term implications of retailer returns in business-to-business relationships," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 252-272, March.
    2. J-M Chen & H-L Cheng & I-C Lin, 2011. "On channel coordination under price-dependent revenue-sharing: can eBay's fee structure coordinate the channel?," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 62(11), pages 1992-2001, November.
    3. Wei Pan & Ying Guo & Wenji Zhang & Lei Jin & Shujie Liao, 2018. "Order policy for emergency medicine with return uncertainty in a closed-loop supply chain," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(10), pages 1-24, October.
    4. Ülkü, M. Ali & Gürler, Ülkü, 2018. "The impact of abusing return policies: A newsvendor model with opportunistic consumers," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 124-133.

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