Title: Commodity bundling in the supply chain: a simulation study

Authors: Ahmet S. Ozkul; Hurrem Yilmaz; Mehmet Barut

Addresses: Department of Marketing and Quantitative Analysis, College of Business, University of New Haven, 300 Boston Post Rd, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA. ' School of Business, College of Saint Rose, 950 Madison Ave, Albany, NY 12208, USA. ' Department of Finance, Real Estate and Decision Sciences, Wichita State University, 1845 Fairmount, Wichita, KS, 67260, USA

Abstract: Commodity bundling has received little attention in the supply chain literature although products in a bundle are delivered through supply chains. Marketing and economics literature largely discuss the issue from pricing and consumer behaviour perspectives. In this study, we investigate bundling strategy from a supply chain and operations standpoint. Our results indicate that not only the products in the bundle but also the supply chains providing these products should be matched considering capacity limitations and volume flexibilities. We discuss theoretical implications of our results and provide recommendations for practicing managers based on our findings and insights.

Keywords: commodity bundling; supply chains; capacity limitation; volume flexibility; functional products; innovative products; simulation; supply chain management; SCM; operations.

DOI: 10.1504/IJISM.2012.051040

International Journal of Integrated Supply Management, 2012 Vol.7 No.1/2/3, pp.114 - 137

Received: 09 Nov 2011
Accepted: 11 Jun 2012
Published online: 10 Apr 2015 *

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