Information sharing in a sustainable supply chain

Abstract

Whilst information sharing is frequently cited as being the key to reducing supply chain cost, one may wonder if this claim holds true for sustainable supply chains. This paper addresses this gap in the lit- erature by introducing information sharing in a two level sustainable supply chain model. Two dimen- sions of sustainable practices (environmental and social cost) have been quantified in the inventory model of this supply chain. An optimal shipment size and buyer's price are determined mathematically for the case of with- and without-sharing-information. It was observed that information sharing results in better annual profit with a drop in buyer's price. A sensitivity analysis of environmental costs to this enhancement in profit/price is carried out and some important managerial implications are outlined.