Topic： Strategic Demand Information Dissemination

Time： April 25th (Monday), 2:00 – 3:30 pm

Venue： Conference Room 108, WENLAN

Speaker： Dr. Li Jiang is an associate professor of Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Dr. Jiang earns his PhD degree in Operations and Management Science at University of Michigan, USA, in 2006. He has published several academic papers in Management Science, European Journal of Operational Research, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, System Sciences and Systems Engineering, etc.

Research Area: Supply chain information management, Complex assembly system analysis, Consumer search, Environmental operations, Behavioral operations

Abstract:

We investigate demand information flow in a system where a supplier sells to two retailers that serve a market with uncertain demand. Each retailer has exclusive access to a signal that can be utilized to update demand forecast. The retailers can strategically disclose signals to each other (horizontal information sharing), and the supplier can select a procedure to acquire their signals (vertical information acquisition). The status of horizontal (vertical, resp.) information flow enhances as more retailers horizontally (vertically, resp.) disclose signals. We examine the incentives for the retailers to share signals, and for the supplier to solicit signals from the retailers, together with the procedure it should follow. On the basis of the outcomes thus obtained, we demonstrate vertical information acquisition and horizontal information sharing are strategic complements. System-wide information transparency, under which the demand signals at the retailers are visible throughout the entire supply chain, is attainable. Moreover, we show that incentive-driven demand information flow can be egalitarian to benefit each and every individual party.