Research On Lot-sizing Models In Supply Chain With Supplier As The Transportation Sponsors

With the advent of21century and a knowledge-oriented economic era, the dynamic and globalized market has contributed to a sharp shift of competition from among different companies to varied supply chains. Supply chain theory comes into shape and takes a great stride in its practice, which leads to the waning of traditional cost management focusing on self-management from design, manufacture to marketing. Instead, a new shape of partnership with global suppliers and sellers is taking shape, aiming to establish a long term strategic alliance leading to common interests and profits. In fact, this a trend offering fresh access to purchase cost reduction by taking into consideration of mutual benefits through wholesale model, instead of a narrow concentration on individual interest.Purchaser used to dominate in traditional supply chain, with purchaser alone making decisions on the bulk quantity and suppliers following the decision made in manufacturing, a practice totally ignoring the truth that only a decision of transportation bulk made by supplier can bring even more profitable long-term partnership for the sake of both sides. Hence, the thesis stands in the shoes of supplier in its tentative establishment of transportation bulk model, taking into consideration of transportation cost and overall interests for the two-layered supply chain, targeting at a decrease of costs for both sides and a further cooperation resulting from the optimized transportation bulk model.The paper starts with a brief on supply chain theories, and moves on for an analysis on relevant costs of companies on different supply nodes and in a long-term cooperation. A summary is made here concerning researches home and aboard on management of supply chain, bulk transportation model, and supply-demand coordination, etc. And then, a long term supply chain model is taken as a focus in the thesis. At first an individual transportation bulk model is made based on interest of supplier, where purchaser is supposed to be on a negative position when supply cost is reduced and a rise in purchasing cost will definitely undermine cooperation. And the thesis goes ahead and establishes a comprehensive transportation bulk model based on interests on both sides to achieve cost reduction for overall supply chain. It is still true that there is a cost increase for the purchaser even though the overall cost has been reduced. Therefore the establishment of a share system is imperative to maintain cooperation as long as the overall profits are fairly shared for both sides. The main results as follows:First:total costs on both sides are reduced compared with the costs in model without cooperation.Second:the rise of supply cost in model with cooperation despite of the decrease in overall cost as well as purchasing cost, leads to a new interest share system in order to realize a minimized cost for the whole supply chain.Third:purchasing cost is reduced in the model with cooperation.Fourth:an optimized bulk range can be obtained based on previous analysis, in order to insert flexibility into real production.In the last part of the thesis, a wood company is chosen as an example to apply the comprehensive transportation bulk model, where an optimized bulk quantity for mutual benefit is calculated. Compared with its traditional supply approach, the adoption of the new model serves well for an effective reduction for overall supply cost. Meanwhile, a new interest share system is put into place to curb potential increase of purchasing cost, keeping a balance in cost reduction for both sides and thus contributing to a stronger partnership.