Publications

15 Oct 2019
News

Understanding Challenges Across the Supply Chain

Alvarez has visited farms, slaughterhouses, packing plants, and supermarkets to explore issues of concern to managers working around the world and across the supply chain. “We try to get into the weeds of what’s happening and speak to the... View Details

April 2009 (Revised June 2010)
Supplement

Supply Chain Partners: Virginia Mason and Owens & Minor (B)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Lisa Brem

The epilogue to Supply Chain Partners: Virginia Mason and Owens & Minor (A), the B case details the outcome of the issues discussed in Case A; namely that Virginia Mason and Owens & Minor did implement the TSCC contract. Virginia Mason also kept the suture contract... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Supply Chain Management; Partners and Partnerships; Measurement and Metrics; Contracts; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

2024
Working Paper

Markups and Cost Pass-through Along the Supply Chain

By: Santiago E. Alvarez, Alberto Cavallo, Alexander MacKay and Paolo Mengano

We study markups and pricing strategies along the supply chain. Our unique dataset combines detailed price and cost information from a large global manufacturer with matched retail prices collected online for the period July 2018 through June 2023. We show that total... View Details

Keywords: Markups; Pricing; Price; Supply Chain; Inflation and Deflation; Cost

17 May 2021
News

This Is the Year of the Broken Supply Chain

17 Jun 2022
News

Another Shortage? Here’s What Is Happening to Supply Chains

January 2021
Article

Chain Stability in Trading Networks

By: John William Hatfield, Scott Duke Kominers, Alexandru Nichifor, Michael Ostrovsky and Alexander Westkamp

We show that in general trading networks with bilateral contracts, a suitably adapted chain stability concept (Ostrovsky, 2008) is equivalent to stability (Hatfield and Kominers, 2012; Hatfield et al., 2013) if all agents' preferences are fully substitutable and... View Details

Keywords: Matching; Trading Networks; Chain Stability; Stability; Competitive Equilibria; Full Substitutability; Laws Of Aggregate Supply And Demand; Contracts; Market Design; Balance and Stability

August 2002 (Revised May 2003)
Teaching Note

Supply Chain Close-Up: The Video Vault TN

By: V.G. Narayanan

Teaching Note for (9-102-070). View Details

Keywords: Entertainment and Recreation Industry

2017
Working Paper

Intermediation in the Supply of Agricultural Products in Developing Economies

By: Kris J. Ferreira, Joel Goh and Ehsan Valavi

Problem Definition: Farmers face several challenges in agricultural supply chains in emerging economies that contribute to extreme levels of poverty. One common challenge is that farmers only have access to one channel, often an auction, for which to sell their crops.... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries; Agricultural Supply Chain; Intermediation; Multiple Cahnels; Walrasian Auction; Developing Countries and Economies; Supply Chain; Distribution Channels; Profit; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

19 Mar 2015
Talk

Managing Working Conditions in Global Supply Chains

By: Michael W. Toffel

6 Mar 2015
Talk

Managing Working Conditions in Global Supply Chains

By: Michael W. Toffel

April 2009 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Supply Chain Partners: Virginia Mason and Owens & Minor (A)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Lisa Brem

Virginia Mason Medical Center (VM) hired Owens & Minor (O&M) as its alpha vendor for medical/surgical supplies in 2004. By 2005, O&M was performing Just-in-Time and Low Unit of Measure services for VM, but they believed the pricing model in the industry was outdated.... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Price; Distribution; Supply Chain Management; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

Educators

2021
Case

Walmart's Blockchain Quest: Integrating New Technology into a Complex Supply Chain

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

Blockchain is a digital, distributed, immutable ledger designed to build trust among parties without requiring an independent, third-party arbitrator or intermediary. The technology has potential to improve a variety of industries, including the complex, fragmented,... View Details

Keywords: Blockchain; Supply Chain Management; Technology Adoption

23 Apr 2020
News

Managing Through Crisis: What Toilet Paper Can Teach Us About Supply Chains

09 Mar 2018
News

The Supply Chain Economy and the Future of Good Jobs in America

27 Mar 2015
Conference Presentation

Managing Working Conditions in Global Supply Chains

By: Michael W. Toffel

19 Feb 2018
Working Paper Summaries

The Supply Chain Economy: A New Framework for Understanding Innovation and Services

Keywords: by Mercedes Delgado and Karen G. Mills

23 Sep 2021
News

How the Global Supply Chain Grinch Could Steal Christmas

April 2010 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Supply Chain Partners: Virginia Mason and Owens & Minor (A) (Abridged)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Lisa Brem

Owens & Minor (O&M) performed lean inventory services for Virginia Mason (VM) as its Alpha Vendor, but the outdated industry pricing model created perverse incentives and could not capture O&M's costs. Together, O&M and VM created an activity-based pricing model: Total... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain Management; Partners and Partnerships; Activity Based Costing and Management; Business Model; Non-Governmental Organizations; Nonprofit Organizations; Motivation and Incentives; Asset Pricing; Cost Accounting; Fair Value Accounting; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

Educators