In current stage of China Industrial Transfer, how to select the leading industries is an extremely difficult decision. In this research, we study the selection problem of Jiangbei Industrial Clusters in Anhui Province. Total thirty-three industries can be transferred to Jiangbei Industrial Clusters, however due to limited capacity, Jiangbei Industrial Clusters can only accommodate a few of them. The difficulties of such decision include: 1) the decisions are qualitative within a complex and uncertain environment; 2) the number of alternatives is beyond the upper bound of comparing elements in general decision making methods. We introduce a new methodology-the Orders-of-Magnitude approach of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (OM-AHP) to solve such selection decision. The OM-AHP follows AHP philosophy to structure qualitative questions and uses “pivot” element to handle the situation when the alternatives become more than seven. By employing OM-AHP methodology, we found the modern logistics industry and ship & marine equipment etc., are identified to be the leading industries; particularly, we recommend to give higher priority in modern logistics industry and the advanced equipment manufacturing industry, given these two industries could dramatically improve the overall comprehensive economic strength and significantly enhance competitive advantages of the Jiangbei Industrial Clusters.

The intuitionistic triangular fuzzy set is a generalization of the intuitionistic fuzzy set. In practical applications, we find that the results derived by using the traditional intuitionistic triangular fuzzy aggregation operators based on intuitionistic triangular fuzzy sets are sometimes inconsistent with intuition. To overcome this issue, based on the [1/9, 9] scale, we define the concepts of intuitionistic multiplicative triangular fuzzy set and intuitionistic multiplicative triangular fuzzy number, and then we discuss their operational laws and some desirable properties. Based on the operational laws, we develop a series of aggregation operators for intuitionistic multiplicative triangular fuzzy information, and then apply them to propose an approach to multi-attribute decision making under intuitionistic fuzzy environments. Finally, we use a practical example involving the evaluation of investment alternatives of an investment company to demonstrate our aggregation operators and decision making approach.

This paper investigates an optimal decision problem in a single-period, two-stage supply chain with capacity reservation contract. At the beginning of the planning horizon, the retailer, who faces stochastic demand, reserves future capacity according to his forecasting of the demand. The supplier then constructs capacity. At the beginning of the selling season, the retailer updates the demand forecasting and places an order. When the retailer’s demand is greater than the supplier’s capacity, the supplier can meet the retailer’s demand by outsourcing. We analyze the optimal decision of each player in both centralized and decentralized systems. Furthermore, under the case in which demand follows a uniform distribution, we obtain the closed-form optimal strategies of each player for both centralized and decentralized systems and conduct numerical studies to reveal additional conclusions. The numerical studies show that the optimal reservation capacity for the retailer and the optimal constructing capacity for the supplier in the decentralized system are both less than the optimal constructing capacity in the centralized system. Furthermore, we also find that the profit loss due to decentralization always exists and increases in indeterminacy.

Large sized power transformers are important parts of the power supply chain. These very critical networks of engineering assets are an essential base of a nation’s energy resource infrastructure. This research identifies the key factors influencing transformer normal operating conditions and predicts the asset management lifespan. Engineering asset research has developed few lifespan forecasting methods combining real-time monitoring solutions for transformer maintenance and replacement. Utilizing the rich data source from a remote terminal unit (RTU) system for sensor-data driven analysis, this research develops an innovative real-time lifespan forecasting approach applying logistic regression based on the Weibull distribution. The methodology and the implementation prototype are verified using a data series from 161 kV transformers to evaluate the efficiency and accuracy for energy sector applications. The asset stakeholders and suppliers significantly benefit from the real-time power transformer lifespan evaluation for maintenance and replacement decision support.

This paper studies dynamic pricing and cooperative advertising strategies in a two-member channel of distribution. We propose differential game models that incorporate the carryover effects of advertising over time for both manufacturer and retailer. Two different models are studied. Firstly, we discussed a non-cooperative differential game which the manufacturer supports partially the cost of the promotion activities. Secondly, both channel members cooperatively determine their respective strategies. In these two cases, dynamic cooperative advertising and pricing strategies are characterized. Then numerical simulation method is applied to analyze the sensitivity of main model parameters and compare the main results of the two models. The simulation results show that the cooperative model achieves better coordination than the non-cooperative model with the following features: all channel members achieve higher advertising efforts and profit level in the cooperative case rather than in the non-cooperative case.

The paper studies channel choice decisions in a multi-channel supply chain under a strategy where there is an ex-ante commitment made on the retail price markup. The market demand is uncertain and dependent on the price and sales efforts. The results show that in any channel structure, when making order decisions the retailer only examines the price ratio and the fluctuation size of random demand, rather than the channel cost and the retailer’s marketing efficiency. When the retail price rises, the manufacturer is willing to increase inventory quantity for direct sales, because the manufacturer’s profit margin is higher in direct channel. The increase in demand fluctuation only affects the degree of channel preference but doesn’t change the manufacturer’s channel choice. No matter in which level the price ratio is, when the sales efficiency of retail channel is not high or the demand proportion of direct channel is low, the manufacturer and the retailer will be both apt to choose a dual-channel structure. Then adding a direct channel becomes a marketing strategy, rather than a competitor of the retail channel, and helps the supply chain win more market demand.