Supply Chain Coordination with Contracts
Today I would like to talk about Supply Chain Coordination with Contracts, a chapter written by Cachon (2003). It has become the standard reference when it comes to teaching some key supply chain models. Coordination between the members of a supply chain is certainly very relevant but also challenging. Because the members of a supply chain are typically concerned with optimizing their own objectives, their actions might not lead to optimal supply chain performance. Therefore, contracts need to be carefully designed. The author “reviews and extends the supply chain literature on the management of incentive conflicts with contracts”. For example, Cachon presents key supply chain models, hereby extending the newsvendor model “by allowing the retailer to choose the retail price in addition to the stocking quantity” and “by allowing the retailer to exert costly effort to increase demand”. Teaching such models can help students to gain the required problem-solving competencies and abstraction capabilities that are needed in today’s business world.
Cachon, G.P. (2003). Supply Chain Coordination with Contracts. Handbooks in Operations Research and Management Science, 11 (Supply Chain Management: Design, Coordination and Operation), 227-339 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0927-0507(03)11006-7
How to Write an Abstract
An abstract is maybe the most underestimated document of a journal submission. First, the editor will read it and use it as a criterion to decide whether she will give the submission a chance, hereby asking: “So what? Is this manuscript timely and relevant?” Second, the abstract is usually included in the invitation e-mail received by potential reviewers and typically the only part of the manuscript they can see before deciding for or against accepting the invitation. An abstract should, thus, not create a cognitive dissonance. Finally, an article can only be found by potential readers if the abstract contains proper search terms. Readers also use it to decide whether they will read the rest of the paper. More about abstracts can be found in Emerald’s How To Guide. The structure of Emerald’s abstracts is helpful even if a journal does not require a structured abstract: Simply remove the headlines (e.g., “Purpose”)!
Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)
Some time ago, I have discussed identifiers for a specific edition of a book (ISBN), serials and other continuing resources (ISSN), and content objects like journal articles (DOI). But did you already know the Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)? According to the ORCID website, it “provides a persistent digital identifier that distinguishes you from every other researcher and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between you and your professional activities ensuring that your work is recognized”. Hereby, a unique 16-digit code (e.g. 0000-0003-0010-4240) is used to identify a researcher. In a Nature editorial back in 2009 it was discussed that an academic-reward system would be tied less heavily to publications and citations if an author ID system like ORCID gained widespread support. This could soon become true, as ORCID is supported by important organizations, including publishers like Elsevier, Springer, and Wiley.
