College of Management, Research Institute of Business Analytics & Supply Chain Management, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
College of Information Science and Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
PLoS One. 2018 Nov 28;13(11):e0207937. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207937. eCollection 2018.
As a supply chain solution integrator, fourth party logistics (4PL) has become an important focus for improving the operational efficiency of the logistics industry in recent days. This paper addresses the mechanism design problem of the 4PL for selecting a third party logistics (3PL) provider who involves loss-averse behavior to form a longer-term strategic partnership in multi-attribute reverse auctions. Due to fluctuating costs of energy or labor and unintentional delivery failures like traffic jam or technology malfunctions, we consider two incomplete attributes, namely cost uncertainty and delivery risk. Integrating the loss-averse behavior of 3PLs, based on the prospect theory, the bid decision model is constructed to obtain 3PLs' bidding strategies. The corresponding efficient and optimal scoring auctions that consist of cost-sharing contract and contingent penalty are developed to maximize the ex ante expected profit of the system or the 4PL depending on whether the 4PL is willing to cooperate or not. Theoretical analysis verified by numerical examples illustrates the advantage of the proposed mechanisms. Impacts of model parameters on the 4PL's decision are also investigated and managerial insights are presented.
作为供应链解决方案集成商，第四方物流（4PL）已成为提高物流行业运营效率的重要关注点。本文针对涉及损失厌恶行为的第三方物流（3PL）供应商选择问题，研究了在多属性逆向拍卖中 4PL 的机制设计问题，以形成更长期的战略合作伙伴关系。由于能源或劳动力成本波动以及交通堵塞或技术故障等非故意交付失败等原因，我们考虑了两个不完整的属性，即成本不确定性和交付风险。结合 3PL 的损失厌恶行为，基于前景理论构建了投标决策模型，以获取 3PL 的投标策略。开发了包含成本分担合同和应急罚款的有效和最优评分拍卖，以最大化系统或 4PL 的预期利润，具体取决于 4PL 是否愿意合作。通过数值示例进行的理论分析验证了所提出机制的优势。还研究了模型参数对 4PL 决策的影响，并提出了管理见解。
