Research on cross-border e-commerce inventory strategy based on multi-channel competition model

As the global cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) market continues to expand, effective inventory management becomes crucial for e-tailers to address challenges such as long transportation times and high logistics costs. This study introduces a novel multi-member, multi-channel competition-cooperation framework for cross-border supply chains and proposes a dynamic inventory optimisation mechanism under centralised and decentralised strategies. Since analysing the optimal solutions under both strategies, as well as the impact of market demand uncertainty on inventory and profits, the following conclusions were revealed. Increased demand uncertainty compels both retailers and suppliers to raise inventory levels to prevent stockouts, ultimately impacting profitability. The centralised strategy demonstrates superior resource allocation, resulting in lower overall inventory and reduced vulnerability to market fluctuations. By emphasising the necessity for suppliers and retailers to collaborate on inventory management and recommends the establishment of contracts that share profits and risks to alleviate price competition in multi-channel contexts.