Online finance implemented by e-commerce platforms assists small and medium-sized enterprises in overcoming capital shortages and advancing channel development. We investigate the interplay between channel strategy and platform financing within a dual-channel supply chain comprising a capital-constrained supplier, an e-commerce platform, and an offline retailer. The supplier has access to various sales services (i.e., reselling and agency selling) as well as financing services from the e-commerce platform. Using a game-theoretical model, we analyze the financing conditions under two channel strategies and explore the supplier’s optimal channel strategy. Our research results reveal several key insights. Firstly, whether to choose platform financing under varying channel strategies depends on the supplier’s capital constraints and the platform’s interest rate. High capital constraints allow the supplier to benefit from platform financing. Secondly, the determination of the supplier’s optimal channel strategy primarily hinges upon factors such as the supplier’s production cost and financial constraints, as well as the interest and commission rates set by the platform. Additionally, the e-commerce platform imposes stricter financial requirements on the supplier to offer financing under the agency selling strategy compared to the reselling strategy. Furthermore, in the case of relatively high (or low) production costs, choosing the reselling strategy (or the agency selling strategy) to secure retailer finance (or agency finance) can realize a Pareto improvement. Our findings underscore the significant role of platform finance and provide valuable insights for suppliers in developing channel strategies that effectively integrate both operational and financial considerations.

中文翻译：

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代理还是转售？供应商的平台融资线上渠道策略


电商平台开展的线上金融，帮助中小企业克服资金短缺，推进渠道发展。我们研究了由资金有限的供应商、电子商务平台和线下零售商组成的双渠道供应链中渠道策略和平台融资之间的相互作用。供应商可以通过电子商务平台获得各种销售服务（即转售和代理销售）以及融资服务。利用博弈论模型，分析两种渠道策略下的融资条件，探索供应商的最优渠道策略。我们的研究结果揭示了几个关键见解。首先，不同渠道策略下是否选择平台融资取决于供应商的资金约束和平台利率。高资本限制使供应商能够从平台融资中受益。其次，供应商最优渠道策略的确定主要取决于供应商的生产成本和财务约束以及平台设定的利率和佣金率等因素。此外，与转售策略相比，电商平台对代销策略下提供融资的供应商提出了更严格的财务要求。此外，在生产成本较高（或较低）的情况下，选择转售策略（或代销策略）来获得零售商融资（或代理融资）可以实现帕累托改进。我们的研究结果强调了平台融资的重要作用，并为供应商制定有效整合运营和财务考虑因素的渠道策略提供了宝贵的见解。