Title: A dual-channel supply chain considering different preferences of delivery cost bearing in presence of a third-party platform

Authors: Soumita Kundu

Addresses: Department of Mathematics, Haldia Government College, Purba Medinipur – 721657, India

Abstract: This paper explores the operation decisions of a dual-channel supply coordination consisting of a manufacturer, a retailer and a third-party platform (3PP). In reality, in the presence of the third-party platform manufacturers can opt for various options of bearing delivery cost: 1) the manufacturer will bear the delivery cost; 2) the 3PP will bear the delivery cost; 3) the customer will bear the delivery cost. Here, we address all these situations. Furthermore, the delivery time, to which the online customers are more sensitive, is taken into consideration by customers' channel choice and the manufacturer or the third party makes efforts to reduce delivery time. Finally, sensitivity analysis with graphical illustrations has been performed to investigate whether it is profitable for the manufacturer to pay product delivery cost in the online channel, if not, under what condition the third-party platform or the online customer will bear this cost.

Keywords: dual-channel; third-party platform; delivery time; revenue sharing; pricing.

DOI: 10.1504/IJOR.2026.155582

International Journal of Operational Research, 2026 Vol.56 No.3, pp.290 - 313

Received: 02 Nov 2023
Accepted: 12 May 2024
Published online: 06 Aug 2026 *

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