The effect of demand uncertainty and customer-oriented buyers on supply chain management under inter-organizational cost management

Abstract

In this study, we shed light on inter-organizational relationships in a supply chain, which consists of suppliers and customer-oriented buyers. In particular, we conduct, under inter-organizational cost management, the effect of demand uncertainty and customer-oriented buyers on inter-organizational management. Our analysis reveals that an increase in the degree of uncertainty lowers the supply chain profit. On the other hand, customer-oriented buyers have a positive result for supply chain management. This result supports the effectiveness of the customer-oriented management that Japanese firms have taken, such as market-oriented product development in cost management.