A new comparative scenario for supply chains using common replenishment epochs

In this paper, we propose a new cooperative scenario for supply chains using common replenishment epochs based on the mathematical model presented in Viswanathan and Piplani's paper. In order to solve an optimal solution for the cooperative scenario, we first conduct a theoretical analysis on the optimal cost function of the mathematical model. Then, we propose an efficient search algorithm by utilizing our theoretical results on the cooperative scenario. Also, we introduce a saving-sharing mechanism that could motivate the buyers to cooperate with the vendor. Importantly, the proposed saving-sharing mechanism assists the supply chain system to create a multi-win situation among the vendor and the buyers. Using the 48 sets of data in Viswanathan and Piplani's paper, we demonstrate that the proposed cooperative scenario could attain significant improvement on the costs for both the vendor and the buyers in comparison to the Stackelberg-game scenario.