Comparison of Dual-Channel Supply Chain Structures: E-Commerce Platform as Different Roles

Cong Wang, De-li Yang, Zhao Wang
2016 Mathematical Problems in Engineering  
E-commerce platforms can act as an e-tailer or a third-party intermediary that charge a commission and allow manufacturers to sell products on their platform directly. These two forms of dual-channel supply chain structures have different impacts on decisions and profits of manufacturers and traditional retailers. This paper establishes different Stackelberg game models for both dual-channel supply chain structures and achieves the equilibrium results. The results state that both structures can
more » ... increase the consumer surplus and social welfare. More importantly, when the platform acts as an e-tailer, the manufacturer and the traditional retailer can form a "win-win" situation. Nevertheless, when the platform acts as a third-party intermediary allowing manufacturers to sell products on the platform directly, it is bound to harm the interests of the traditional retailer.
doi:10.1155/2016/3831624 fatcat:b2enzk37ufakthmqpgttlwz4la