Two-phase deteriorated supply chain model with variable demand and imperfect production process under two-stage credit financing

Abstract

In this article, an imperfect production inventory model consisting of a manufacturer and a retailer with quality improvement effort and the promotional effort sensitive demand pattern is investigated under a two-tier credit policy. We study the model for deteriorating items where the deterioration occurs at different rates in the manufacturer’s and the retailer’s level considering a fixed lifetime of the product. Discussing the six possible cases of credit policy analytically, we analyze the behavior of the model under an integrated system concerning production lot-size, quality effort and promotional effort such that the integrated average profit is maximum. To obtain the optimal solutions of the model, we design an operative solution algorithm. A numerical example is provided to test feasibility of the model, and the effect of the variation of the key parameters is also studied. The outcomes of this proposed model show that the manufacturer and the retailer have to be more careful about their offered credit periods in aspect of the profit. It is observed that the integrated profit is maximum when both credit periods provided by the manufacturer and the retailer belong to the manufacturer’s cycle. Moreover, we identify that the extended product lifetime does not meet with higher profit all times. This study directs that quality effort and promotional effort stimulate the market demand while it is not always economically profitable for the supply chain.