We examine the mechanism design problem for a single buyer to procure purchase-options for a homogeneous good when that buyer is required to satisfy an unknown future demand. Suppliers have 2dimensional types in the form of commitment costs and production costs. The efficient schedule of options depends on the distribution of demand. To implement an efficient outcome, we introduce a class of me...

This paper traces the diffusion of " just-in-time " production in the Japanese automotive sector, as reflected by inventory reductions in a sample of 52 suppliers and assemblers. We show that most inventory reductions occurred during a remarkable burst of activity starting in the late 1960s. Companies affiliated with Toyota were the early adopters but were followed very quickly by others in Jap...

the asymptotic behaviour of the sequence with general term $p_n=(varphi(1)+varphi(2)+cdots+varphi(n))/(1+2+cdots+n)$, is studied which appears in the studying of coprime integers, and an explicit bound for the difference $p_n-6/pi^2$ is found.

Traditionally the Peruvian mining sector has been unfavorable for innovation by local suppliers. However, some firms have managed to innovate despite these conditions in recent years. The aim of this paper is to understand the factors and incentives that foster or hinder innovation in such a context. We identify and analyze the mechanisms that lead to innovative activities through the study of ...

Modularisation provides new challenges for the automobile industry. Following the trend, this study empirically compared the cases of Korea and Japan. This study finds out the characteristics of modularisation dynamics in Korea which are different from those of Japan. The results show that modularisation of Korean automobile industry is shifting to modularisation in inter-firm system which outs...

In this paper, a complete concept for Internet Electronic Data Interchange using XML is proposed and the realized prototype, which has been developed for an industrial partner to improve the current situation of parts delivery, is described. Scope of the problem The starting point of the project was a problem of our industrial partner (BMW Motors Steyr in Austria). During the process of parts d...

With the growth of public awareness for environmental protection, green production was raised as an important issue for each producer, which will guarantee its activity in long term. Creating suppliers, performance assessment system is so necessary and important that it measures suitability of the suppliers for long-term cooperation with the company. Many activities have been performed for sele...

It has been shown that input-output linkages along supply chains affect firms' performance such as sales, productivity, and innovative capacity. This paper explores a new aspect in the literature, examining how supply chain relations influence financial transactions between firms. More specifically, this paper, using an exhaustive dataset on buyer-supplier networks in Japan, studies whether sup...

This paper revisits evidence on the correlates of sourcing decisions in the US auto industry to see whether adoption of new contracting terms and early involvement of suppliers in design activities (e.g. ``relational contracting'') yields di€erent results as compared to previous ®ndings. Previous studies ®nd that US auto ®rms insource complex parts that require investments in speci®c assets. Ab...

This paper develops a modeling and computational framework for supply chain networks with global outsourcing and quick-response production under demand and cost uncertainty. Our model considers multiple off-shore suppliers, multiple manufacturers, and multiple demand markets. Using variational inequality theory, we formulate the governing equilibrium conditions of the competing decision-makers ...