Inventory allocation under asymmetric information and decision power

Löffel, Christoph

Vorschau

PDF
Dissertation_Christoph_Löffel_published.pdf - Veröffentlichte Version
Download (1MB)

URN:	urn:nbn:de:bsz:180-madoc-719503
Dokumenttyp:	Dissertation
Erscheinungsjahr:	2026
Ort der Veröffentlichung:	Mannheim
Hochschule:	Universität Mannheim
Gutachter:	Fleischmann, Moritz
Datum der mündl. Prüfung:	2026
Sprache der Veröffentlichung:	Englisch
Einrichtung:	Fakultät für Betriebswirtschaftslehre > ABWL u. Logistik (Fleischmann 2009-)
Fachgebiet:	650 Management
Freie Schlagwörter (Englisch):	Dissertation
Abstract:	Appropriately allocating inventories across the supply network is essential to a firm’s success. To manage inventory effectively, a firm must navigate complex trade-offs and account for constraints such as limited production capacity, raw material availability, storage space, transportation capacity, and capital restrictions, all within an often uncertain business environment. Moreover, distributed decision-making and conflicting objectives among the involved actors further complicate inventory allocation in many real-world environments. This thesis is based on a collaboration with a multinational agrochemical supplier and addresses three key inventory allocation challenges faced by the case company. Chapter II proposes an optimization-based budget planning model to support the annual budget planning cycle of the case company’s business units, where the sales and supply chain departments align on a set of volume guarantees to be supplied along the planning horizon while ensuring adherence to a strict inventory investment cap imposed by the business unit head. While Chapter II considers a single business unit under a given maximum inventory investment ceiling, Chapter III focuses on how the company’s headquarters should disaggregate a total inventory investment ceiling into business unit-specific ceilings under private information and conflicting incentives. To this end, we propose an auction mechanism through which business units can acquire a share of the total inventory investment budget. Chapter IV addresses the question of how much of which final product the headquarters of the firm should produce from a limited set of raw materials. The allocation problem is complicated by uncertain customer demand and private information held by local product managers who optimize local instead of global profits. We propose a two-step allocation mechanism that combines an initial top-down allocation with subsequent bottom-up adjustments facilitated through transfer payments.