Research On Inventory Strategy Considering Customers Demand Transfer And Inventory Transshipment In Dual Channel Supply Chain

With the rapid development of information technology, Internet-based e-commerce is paid more attention, and more and more enterprises begin to sell goods through traditional retail and network direct sales channels. There are both competition and cooperation in two channels. Especially, when a channel is out of stock, the customers may choose to make a purchase through other channels, which produces customers demands transfer competitive behavior, leading customer base unstable. In addition to competitive behavior like customers demand transfer, supply chain members tend to have cooperative behavior, such as through inventory cooperative transshipment to reduce inventory levels in dual channel supply chain. But how to reduce inventory stock levels is also an inventory control problem which needs to solve in dual-channel supply chain. Therefore, based on a channel of dual-channel supply out of stock, considering customers demand transfer and inventory cooperation transshipment, the paper researches the inventory strategy in centralized and decentralized two decision modes using Markov chain theory and optimization theory in dual-channel supply chain.Firstly, the paper established the dual channel supply chain inventory strategy model, and comparative analyzed optimal inventory strategy in two decision-making modes, getting the conclusion that the network and retail stores’ optimal base stock level were the same respectively under two kinds of decision model. And the numerical simulation solved by MATLAB analyzed parameters, such as network channel preference rate, demand rate, replenishment rate, inventory holding cost, lost sales cost of effecting on the inventory strategy, finding that the dual channel supply chain could adjust some parameters to coordinate system inventory levels, and to improve the profits.Secondly, based on the basic inventory strategy, considering customer demand transfer, the paper established the inventory strategy model in dual channel supply chain. Research results indicated that the network and retail stores’ optimal basic inventory level were hardly influenced by the customer transfer rate, but the profits under customer demand transfer was higher than the basic inventory’ profits, and that the case of customer demand transfer was better than of the basic inventory strategy. And through the analysis of relevant parameters under customer demand transfer effecting on the inventory strategy, customer demand transfer could make the related parameters’ performance better.Thirdly, based on customer demand transfer, simultaneously considering inventory cooperation transshipment, the paper established inventory strategy model in dual channel supply chain. The calculation results showed that the inventory in supply chain system under inventory transshipment was less than its of the situation of only considering the customer demand transfer, and through the inventory transshipment, it increased the profit of supply chain, and that inventory cooperation transshipment situation was better than the case of only considering customer demand transfer. Similarly, by analyzing the effects of related parameters on the inventory strategy under inventory cooperation transshipment, inventory cooperation transshipment could make the related parameters’ performance better.Finally, it concluded and evaluated the research, and proposed further research.