Research On Decision-making Of Platform Between Logistics Company And Producer In Online Sales System

Recent years,with the application of mobile networks,online sales have achieved rapid development,which changed the traditional business operation model.Due to the increasingly fierce competition in online sales,to provide better services,some online sales platforms(referred to as "platforms")choose to cooperate with logistics companies.Especially in some promotional activities and holidays,market demand will increase sharply and the information sharing between the platform and the logistics company can enable the logistics company to coordinate transportation management and effectively solve the problem of delivery difficulties of the platform.The prevalence of online sales has promoted the rapid development of logistics companies and shortened the delivery time,therefore some fresh product producers(such as hairy crab farmers)choose to sell products online.To achieve industrial structure upgrade and sustainable development of the aquaculture industry,producers need to improve the green level of products and achieve environmental protection and ecological farming by improving the breeding environment and upgrade the farming technology.However,the green production cost information of producer is asymmetric to the platform.Therefore,considering the contract design of the online sales system under asymmetric information of producer’s green production cost has important and practical significance.Considering the difference in platform sales model,this paper studies the two modes of the platform self-operated mode and platform agency mode.First,we discuss the decision-making of the platform and the logistics company under the agency model,the forecast information sharing strategy between the platform and the logistics company under the self-operated mode.Then,we discuss the contract design between the platform and the producer under the self-operated mode and agency mode under asymmetric information of the producer’s green production cost.The main tasks are as follows.This paper(Chapter 3)studies the decisions-making of the platform and the logistics company under the agency model.Considering an online sales system consisting of an e-commerce seller(producer or retailer),a platform and a logistics company,the platform and the logistics company make decisions simultaneously,three different game models are analyzed,and the equilibrium results under the three models are obtained and compared,and the influence of the key parameters are analyzed.The research results show that when the platform and the logistics company make decisions at the same time,even if their service costs are different,the same fee will be charged.Different game structures have a great impact on online sales members and consumers.For e-commerce sellers,when he is in a dominant position,setting lower retail price can make the most profit and can improve the enthusiasm of consumers simultaneously;vice versa.For the platform and logistics companies,when they are in a dominant position,setting high fees,paying less effort will dampen consumer enthusiasm.However,the greatest dominant ability can not achieve the most profit;When the dominant ability is low,they must get the least profit.Considering the asymmetry of information between the platform and logistics company,the paper(Chapter 4)studies the forecasting information sharing strategy between the platform and logistics company under the self-operated mode.Considering an online sales system consisting of a platform and a logistics company,both of which forecast demand information in situations without information sharing and with information sharing are discussed,we discover that the value of information sharing through the comparison of these two situations is revealed.A bargaining mechanism is designed to facilitate information sharing among members.Studies have shown that,whether there is information sharing or not,with the increase of return rate,the profits of online sales system members are decreasing,and the willingness of information sharing among members is also weakening.The value of information sharing shows that information sharing is beneficial to logistics companies.When the logistics company’s service efficiency is high,the platform will participate in information sharing voluntarily;when the service efficiency is medium,the information sharing can be promoted through a bargaining mechanism;when the service efficiency is very low,there is no information sharing between the online sales system members.Considering the asymmetry of cost information between the platform and the producer,the paper(Chapter 5)studies the contract design between the platform and the producer under the self-operated mode.Considering an online sales system consisting of a platform and a fresh product producer(referred to as "producer"),the producer’s green production cost information is its private information,the platform designs incentive contract to realize the cooperation with the producer and reveal the real cost information of the producer.Two cases of the symmetry and asymmetry of information are analyzed,and the value of information is obtained through the comparison of the optimal contracts and profits.Studies have shown that platform can motivate producer to participate in cooperation by designing different contracts.Producer has private information and may benefit from asymmetric information,therefore,the platform is at an information disadvantage and its expected profits reduce.When the cost coefficient is low,the network externality can effectively curb the adverse impact of information asymmetry on the platform;when the cost coefficient is high,the network externality accelerates the adverse impact of information asymmetry on the platform and the online sales system.This paper(Chapter 6)studies the contract design between the platform and the producer under the agency mode.Considering an online sales system consisting of a platform and a producer,the green production cost information of the producer is private information.The platform cooperates with the producer through a two-part strategy with termination conditions.The optimal contract and other equilibrium results are obtained,the nature of the contract and the influence of asymmetric information are analyzed.Research shows that the platform can reveal the real green cost information of the producer by designing a two-part contract and encourage the producer to carry out the green investment of products while maximizing their profits.Under a specific condition,the two-part contract can realize the coordination of the online sales system under asymmetric information.In addition,since the profits of the platform and the online sales system will decrease under the information asymmetry,when the information is asymmetrical,the opportunities for cooperation within the online sales system will decrease.