IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/orserv/v9y2017i2p91-105.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Pareto Improving Supply Chain Coordination Under a Money-Back Guarantee Service Program

Author

Listed:
  • Jafar Heydari

    (School of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran)

  • Tsan-Ming Choi

    (Business Division, Institute of Textiles and Clothing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong)

  • Saghi Radkhah

    (Department of Industrial Engineering, Alborz Campus, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran)

Abstract

Money-back guarantee (MBG) is a well-known service offered by many retailers. Under the MBG policy, a purchased item by a consumer can be returned for a full refund. In this paper, we explore a supply chain (SC) system comprising of one retailer, which offers the money-back guarantee policy and faces a stochastic demand. With a given supply contract offered by the supplier, the retailer makes decisions on the order quantity and the market coverage of the money-back guarantee service. With reference to real-world practices, we examine three models, namely, (1) the traditional wholesale pricing model without the buyback contract, (2) the model with a buyback contract (between the supplier and the retailer) for unsold items, and (3) a dual-buyback (DB) contract model for both unsold and consumer returned items. We find that using the buyback contract alone for unsold items cannot achieve Pareto improving supply chain coordination, whereas the DB contract can. Numerical findings also indicate that the DB contract can lead to an expansion of the money-back guarantee service program to cover more customers. This paper’s findings support the implementation of the DB contract, which is commonly seen in the industry, for efficient supply chain management in the presence of the money-back guarantee service program.

Suggested Citation

  • Jafar Heydari & Tsan-Ming Choi & Saghi Radkhah, 2017. "Pareto Improving Supply Chain Coordination Under a Money-Back Guarantee Service Program," Service Science, INFORMS, vol. 9(2), pages 91-105, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orserv:v:9:y:2017:i:2:p:91-105
    DOI: 10.1287/serv.2016.0153
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1287/serv.2016.0153
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/serv.2016.0153?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Liu, Jian & Mantin, Benny & Wang, Haiyan, 2014. "Supply chain coordination with customer returns and refund-dependent demand," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 81-89.
    2. Wu, Desheng, 2013. "Coordination of competing supply chains with news-vendor and buyback contract," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(1), pages 1-13.
    3. Heiman, Amir & McWilliams, Bruce & Zilberman, David, 2001. "Demonstrations and money-back guarantees: market mechanisms to reduce uncertainty," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 71-84, October.
    4. V. Daniel R. Guide , Jr. & Gilvan C. Souza & Luk N. Van Wassenhove & Joseph D. Blackburn, 2006. "Time Value of Commercial Product Returns," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(8), pages 1200-1214, August.
    5. Hamilton Emmons & Stephen M. Gilbert, 1998. "Note. The Role of Returns Policies in Pricing and Inventory Decisions for Catalogue Goods," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 44(2), pages 276-283, February.
    6. Ryu, Kwangyeol & Yücesan, Enver, 2010. "A fuzzy newsvendor approach to supply chain coordination," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 200(2), pages 421-438, January.
    7. Van den Poel, Dirk & Leunis, Joseph, 1999. "Consumer Acceptance of the Internet as a Channel of Distribution," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 249-256, July.
    8. Xuanming Su, 2009. "Consumer Returns Policies and Supply Chain Performance," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 11(4), pages 595-612, March.
    9. Barry Alan Pasternack, 1985. "Optimal Pricing and Return Policies for Perishable Commodities," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 4(2), pages 166-176.
    10. Hsieh, Chung-Chi & Wu, Cheng-Han, 2009. "Coordinated decisions for substitutable products in a common retailer supply chain," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 196(1), pages 273-288, July.
    11. Ohmura, Shota & Matsuo, Hirofumi, 2016. "The effect of risk aversion on distribution channel contracts: Implications for return policies," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 29-40.
    12. Sridhar Moorthy & Kannan Srinivasan, 1995. "Signaling Quality with a Money-Back Guarantee: The Role of Transaction Costs," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(4), pages 442-466.
    13. Yoo, Seung Ho, 2014. "Product quality and return policy in a supply chain under risk aversion of a supplier," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 146-155.
    14. Devangan, Lokendra & Amit, R.K. & Mehta, Peeyush & Swami, Sanjeev & Shanker, Kripa, 2013. "Individually rational buyback contracts with inventory level dependent demand," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 381-387.
    15. Xu, Lei & Li, Yongjian & Govindan, Kannan & Xu, Xiaolin, 2015. "Consumer returns policies with endogenous deadline and supply chain coordination," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 242(1), pages 88-99.
    16. Mostard, Julien & Teunter, Ruud, 2006. "The newsboy problem with resalable returns: A single period model and case study," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 169(1), pages 81-96, February.
    17. Chen, Jing, 2011. "The impact of sharing customer returns information in a supply chain with and without a buyback policy," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 213(3), pages 478-488, September.
    18. Suwelack, Thomas & Hogreve, Jens & Hoyer, Wayne D., 2011. "Understanding Money-Back Guarantees: Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Outcomes," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 87(4), pages 462-478.
    19. Lee, Chang Hwan & Rhee, Byong-Duk, 2007. "Channel coordination using product returns for a supply chain with stochastic salvage capacity," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 177(1), pages 214-238, February.
    20. Hou, Jing & Zeng, Amy Z. & Zhao, Lindu, 2010. "Coordination with a backup supplier through buy-back contract under supply disruption," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(6), pages 881-895, November.
    21. Xiao, Tiaojun & Shi, Kuiran & Yang, Danqin, 2010. "Coordination of a supply chain with consumer return under demand uncertainty," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(1), pages 171-180, March.
    22. Govindan, Kannan & Soleimani, Hamed & Kannan, Devika, 2015. "Reverse logistics and closed-loop supply chain: A comprehensive review to explore the future," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 240(3), pages 603-626.
    23. Babich, Volodymyr & Li, Hantao & Ritchken, Peter & Wang, Yunzeng, 2012. "Contracting with asymmetric demand information in supply chains," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 217(2), pages 333-341.
    24. Chen, Jing & Bell, Peter C., 2012. "Implementing market segmentation using full-refund and no-refund customer returns policies in a dual-channel supply chain structure," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(1), pages 56-66.
    25. Choi, Tsan-Ming & Li, Duan & Yan, Houmin, 2008. "Mean-variance analysis of a single supplier and retailer supply chain under a returns policy," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 184(1), pages 356-376, January.
    26. Lee, Chang Hwan & Rhee, Byong-Duk & Cheng, T.C.E., 2013. "Quality uncertainty and quality-compensation contract for supply chain coordination," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 228(3), pages 582-591.
    27. Michael Becker-Peth & Elena Katok & Ulrich W. Thonemann, 2013. "Designing Buyback Contracts for Irrational But Predictable Newsvendors," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(8), pages 1800-1816, August.
    28. Yue, Xiaohang & Raghunathan, Srinivasan, 2007. "The impacts of the full returns policy on a supply chain with information asymmetry," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 180(2), pages 630-647, July.
    29. Arcelus, F.J. & Kumar, Satyendra & Srinivasan, G., 2008. "Evaluating manufacturer's buyback policies in a single-period two-echelon framework under price-dependent stochastic demand," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 808-824, October.
    30. Zhao, Yingxue & Choi, Tsan-Ming & Cheng, T.C.E. & Sethi, Suresh P. & Wang, Shouyang, 2014. "Buyback contracts with price-dependent demands: Effects of demand uncertainty," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 239(3), pages 663-673.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Siqin, Tana & Choi, Tsan-Ming & Chung, Sai-Ho, 2022. "Optimal E-tailing channel structure and service contracting in the platform era," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    2. Wu, Jiang & Zou, Liuxin & Gong, Yeming & Chen, Mingyang, 2021. "The anti-collusion dilemma: Information sharing of the supply chain under buyback contracts," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    3. Li, Dan & Chen, Jing & Liao, Yi, 2021. "Optimal decisions on prices, order quantities, and returns policies in a supply chain with two-period selling," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 290(3), pages 1063-1082.
    4. Zhao, Lianxia & Guo, Wen & Fang, Shu-Cherng & An, Qi, 2024. "Enhancing supply chain coordination through transparency initiatives to mitigate product returns," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    5. Huang, Zongsheng & Huang, Lingchen & Zhao, Yingxue & Meng, Xiaoge, 2021. "Money-back guarantee in the presence of strategic customer behavior," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 239(C).
    6. Ren, Minglun & Liu, Jiqiong & Feng, Shuai & Yang, Aifeng, 2021. "Pricing and return strategy of online retailers based on return insurance," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    7. Junaid, Muhammad & Zhang, Qingyu & Cao, Mei & Luqman, Adeel, 2023. "Nexus between technology enabled supply chain dynamic capabilities, integration, resilience, and sustainable performance: An empirical examination of healthcare organizations," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    8. Shokouhyar, Sajjad & Ahmadi, Sadra & Ashrafzadeh, Mahdi, 2021. "Promoting a novel method for warranty claim prediction based on social network data," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    9. Serravalle, Francesca & Vannucci, Virginia & Pantano, Eleonora, 2022. "“Take it or leave it?†: Evidence on cultural differences affecting return behaviour for Gen Z," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Duong, Quang Huy & Zhou, Li & Meng, Meng & Nguyen, Truong Van & Ieromonachou, Petros & Nguyen, Duy Tiep, 2022. "Understanding product returns: A systematic literature review using machine learning and bibliometric analysis," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    2. Michael Krapp & Johannes B. Kraus, 2019. "Coordination contracts for reverse supply chains: a state-of-the-art review," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 89(7), pages 747-792, September.
    3. Li, Wei & Chen, Jing & Chen, Bintong, 2018. "Supply chain coordination with customer returns and retailer's store brand product," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 69-82.
    4. Wen, Xin & Choi, Tsan-Ming & Chung, Sai-Ho, 2019. "Fashion retail supply chain management: A review of operational models," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 34-55.
    5. Lin, Jiaxin & Zhang, Juliang & Cheng, T.C.E., 2020. "Optimal pricing and return policy and the value of freight insurance for a retailer facing heterogeneous consumers with uncertain product values," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    6. B.C. Giri & S. Bardhan & T. Maiti, 2016. "Coordinating a three-layer supply chain with uncertain demand and random yield," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(8), pages 2499-2518, April.
    7. Xiao, Tiaojun & Shi, Kuiran & Yang, Danqin, 2010. "Coordination of a supply chain with consumer return under demand uncertainty," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(1), pages 171-180, March.
    8. Zhang, Qiao & Chen, Jing & Chen, Bintong, 2021. "Information strategy in a supply chain under asymmetric customer returns information," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    9. Li, Bo & Jiang, Yushan, 2019. "Impacts of returns policy under supplier encroachment with risk-averse retailer," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 104-115.
    10. Liu, Jian & Mantin, Benny & Wang, Haiyan, 2014. "Supply chain coordination with customer returns and refund-dependent demand," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 81-89.
    11. Ülkü, M. Ali & Gürler, Ülkü, 2018. "The impact of abusing return policies: A newsvendor model with opportunistic consumers," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 124-133.
    12. Jing Chen & Bintong Chen, 2016. "Competing with customer returns policies," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(7), pages 2093-2107, April.
    13. Castañeda, Jaime Andrés & Brennan, Mark & Goentzel, Jarrod, 2019. "A behavioral investigation of supply chain contracts for a newsvendor problem in a developing economy," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 72-83.
    14. Chen, Jing & Grewal, Ravneet, 2013. "Competing in a supply chain via full-refund and no-refund customer returns policies," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(1), pages 246-258.
    15. Wang, Chong & Chen, Jing & Chen, Xu, 2019. "The impact of customer returns and bidirectional option contract on refund price and order decisions," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 274(1), pages 267-279.
    16. Yang, Hui & Chen, Jing & Chen, Xu & Chen, Bintong, 2017. "The impact of customer returns in a supply chain with a common retailer," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 256(1), pages 139-150.
    17. Chen, Jing & Chen, Bintong & Li, Wei, 2018. "Who should be pricing leader in the presence of customer returns?," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 265(2), pages 735-747.
    18. Ruiz-Benitez, Rocio & Muriel, Ana, 2014. "Consumer returns in a decentralized supply chain," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(PC), pages 573-592.
    19. Xu, Lei & Li, Yongjian & Govindan, Kannan & Xu, Xiaolin, 2015. "Consumer returns policies with endogenous deadline and supply chain coordination," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 242(1), pages 88-99.
    20. Li, Guo & Li, Lin & Sethi, Suresh P. & Guan, Xu, 2019. "Return strategy and pricing in a dual-channel supply chain," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 153-164.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:orserv:v:9:y:2017:i:2:p:91-105. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.