Supply chain pricing problem under return policy an‎d vendor-managed inventory

12/22/2025 12:00:00 AM

In todayʹs competitive an‎d digital era, especially with the spread of e-commerce, supply chain management is no longer limited to the transfer of goods from producer to consumer; rather, accurate pricing policies an‎d inventory management, especially in the presence of the phenomenon of returns, are recognized as key components for increasing productivity, profitability, an‎d customer satisfaction. Given the increasing challenges in returning products, including processing costs, warehouse space, depreciation of goods, an‎d environmental requirements, making optimal decisions in this area seems essential. The main objective of this research is to develop a mathematical optimization model for simultaneous decision-making in the field of pricing policies an‎d inventory control in the electronic supply chain; a model that simultaneously considers the effect of returns an‎d vendor managed inventory (VMI). In this regard, a model with the nature of nonlinear integer programming (MINLP) was designed, which includes key variables such as wholesale an‎d retail prices, return rates, return costs, inventory holding costs, resale profit, an‎d deman‎d function. The goal of this model is to maximize the total profit of the supply chain under economic, operational, an‎d behavioral constraints of customers. To solve the model, first, the validity of the model was examined on small scales using GAMS software an‎d the BARON solver. Then, to overcome the computational complexity on larger scales, the particle swarm optimization (PSO) metaheuristic algorithm was used. In the next step, sensitivity analysis was performed to examine the effect of fluctuations in critical parameters on optimal decisions an‎d model stability. The numerical results of the research indicate the significant impact of optimal pricing an‎d inventory control policies on supply chain profitability. For example, in examples with a gradual increase in the number of products from 20 to 180, the total profit of the supply chain increased from $1,459,625 to $49,975,684. This exponential growth, in addition to demonstrating the high potential of the model, indicates the increasing value of decision-making at larger scales. Also, with a 30% increase in wholesale price, the total profit of the chain grew by about 29.38%, indicating high sensitivity to price variables an‎d the need for their fine-tuning. On the other han‎d, solving the model at larger scales was accompanied by a significant increase in computational time, which clearly shows the complexity an‎d NP-Hardness of the problem. Overall, the results of this research show that using an integrated model for pricing, inventory management, an‎d product returns can significantly improve the profitability an‎d overall performance of the electronic supply chain. This model can be used as a valuable decision-making tool for supply chain managers, decision analysts, an‎d industrial policymakers, especially in the uncertain an‎d complex conditions of todayʹs markets.

مديريت موجودي , الگوريتم هاي فراابتكاري , سياست قيمت گذاري , زنجيره تامين الكترونيكي

Inventory management , meta-heuristic Algorithm , Pricing Policy , electronic supply chain

Marziyeh Mahmoodi baram

Dr. Mahdi Ghazanfari