Increasing Revenue by Decreasing Information in Procurement Auctions

We report on results of several laboratory experiments that investigate on‐line procurement auctions in which suppliers bid on price, but exogenous bidder quality affects winner determination. In procurement auctions, bidder quality may or may not be publicly known to all bidders, and the effect of this quality transparency on the auction outcome is one aspect of auction design that we examine. The second aspect of auction design that we examine is the effect of price visibility on the auction outcome, and the interaction between price visibility and quality transparency. In terms of price visibility, we consider two extreme cases: the sealed bid request for proposals (RFPs), and the open‐bid dynamic auction event. In terms of bidder quality transparency, we also consider two extreme cases: a setting in which bidder qualities are publicly known and the case in which they are private. We find that in our laboratory experiments, the RFP format is consistent in generating higher buyer surplus levels than does the open‐bid dynamic format. This advantage is independent of the quality transparency. In contrast, the open‐bid format is highly sensitive to quality transparency, generating significantly lower buyer surplus levels when the information about bidder quality is public.     

An Analysis of Scoring and Buyer‐Determined Procurement Auctions

In procurement auctions, the object for sale is a contract, bidders are suppliers, and the bid taker is a buyer. The suppliers bidding for the contract are usually the current supplier (the incumbent) and a group of potential new suppliers (the entrants). As the buyer has an ongoing relationship with the incumbent, he needs to adjust the bids of the entrants to include non‐price attributes, such as the switching costs. The buyer can run a scoring auction, in which suppliers compete on the adjusted bids or scores, or, he can run a buyer‐determined auction, in which suppliers compete on the price, and the buyer adjusts a certain number of the bids with the non‐price attributes after the auction to determine the winner. Unless the incumbent has a significant cost advantage over the entrants, I find that the scoring auction yields a lower average cost for the buyer, if the non‐price attributes are available. If the non‐price attributes are difficult or expensive to obtain, the buyer could run a buyer‐determined auction adjusting only the lowest price bid.     

On E‐Auctions for Procurement Operations

Electronic auctions have revolutionized procurement in the last decade. In many situations, they have replaced negotiations for supplier selection and price setting. While they have often greatly reduced transaction costs and increased competition, they have also encountered problems and resistance from suppliers resenting their intrusion on cooperative supplier/buyer relationships. In response to these issues, procurement auctions have evolved in radical new directions. Buyers use business rules to limit adverse changes. Some procurement auctions allow bidders to offer variants in the specifications of products to be supplied. Most important, some suppliers are allowing bidders to bid on packages of items, not just individual items. This tends to change procurement auctions from zero‐sum fights over supplier profit margins to win‐win searches for synergies. These changes have opened up many new research areas. Researchers are trying to improve how to deal with the computational issues involved in package auctions and to analyze the new auctions forms that are evolving. In general, equilibrium incentives are not known, and dealing with ties in package auctions is an issue. Computer scientists are analyzing the use of computerized bidding agents. Mechanisms that combine auctions with fixed buy prices or with negotiations need to be analyzed.     

Reputation and Mechanism Choice in Procurement Auctions: An Experiment

We experimentally study the role of reputation in procurement using two common mechanisms: price‐based and buyer‐determined auctions. While buyers are bound to buy from the lowest bidder in price‐based auctions, they can choose between bidders in buyer‐determined auctions. Only the latter buyers can consider the reputation of bidders. We find that bidders supply higher quality in buyer‐determined auctions leading to higher market efficiencies in these auctions. Accordingly, buyers prefer the buyer‐determined auction over the price‐based auction, while only half of the bidders do so. A more detailed analysis of buyers' and bidders' behavior and profits provides insights into their mechanism choice.     

Behavior in Multi‐Unit Demand Auctions: Experiments with Uniform Price and Dynamic Vickrey Auctions

We experimentally investigate the sensitivity of bidders demanding multiple units of a homogeneous commodity to the demand reduction incentives inherent in uniform price auctions. There is substantial demand reduction in both sealed bid and ascending price clock auctions with feedback regarding rivals' drop‐out prices. Although both auctions have the same normal form representation, bidding is much closer to equilibrium in the ascending price auctions. We explore the behavioral process underlying these differences along with dynamic Vickrey auctions designed to eliminate the inefficiencies resulting from demand reduction in the uniform price auctions.     

考虑再谈判的网上服务采购多属性拍卖研究

针对在线服务外包,研究了供应商投标服务方案(体现服务质量)和价格的买方决定制多属性采购拍卖,分析了交易双方关于服务内容的再谈判对供应商投标均衡、买方初始服务内容决策和各方期望利润的影响。结果表明,无再谈判情形下,供应商的服务质量投标均衡和信息租金都随初始服务内容递增;而有再谈判情形下,尽管买方对服务质量的评标权重随初始服务内容递增,但供应商服务质量、信息租金及买方期望利润都不受初始服务内容影响。换言之,初始服务内容对采购项目的规制作用被再谈判完全替代。不仅如此,相较于无再谈判情形,再谈判的存在能够激励供应商提供更高的服务质量,并促成更多的服务内容成交,最终使买方、获胜供应商和交易平台都获得更高期望利润。     

Introduction to the Special Issue on E‐Auctions for Procurement Operations

We present nine papers on e‐auctions for procurement operations. The first of the issue's three sections is a foreword highlighting current trends and future research directions. The second section is composed of three commissioned survey papers, covering auctions within e‐sourcing events, electronic markets for truckload transportation, and games and mechanism design in machine scheduling. The final section consists of five research papers on the following topics: whether auction parameters affect buyer surplus in e‐auctions for procurement, collusion in second‐price auctions under minimax regret, the effect of timing on jump bidding in ascending auctions, market‐based allocation with indivisible bids, and ranked items auctions and online advertisement.     

具有高投标成本的多属性逆向拍卖博弈模型

越来越多像GE这样的大型企业在利用多属性逆向拍卖选择新的供应商采购产品时,通常会设定较高的固定投标成本。针对此情况,建立了三阶段的非合作博弈模型,并利用求解子博弈纳什均衡策略的方法,推导出了供应商的最优投标价格。并得到以下两个主要结论:一是供应商的最优投标策略是按照生产产品真实的质量和交货期进行投标,且投标价格为最优投标价格;二是采购商的最优策略是选择投标价格最高的供应商作为拍卖获胜者,这一违反直觉的结论。这是合理的,因为投标价格最高的供应商也是类型最优的供应商,也即投标质量和投标交货期组合最优的供应商。最后,利用数值实验验证了模型的有效性,并显示出设定相对较高的固定投标成本对采购商来说是有利的。     

网上拍卖销售与逆向拍卖采购下的库存管理

以电子商务为背景研究网上拍卖销售与逆向拍卖采购下的库存管理。在该问题中,零售商一方面利用网上拍卖销售产品,另一方面利用逆向拍卖进行采购。对于单阶段情形,证明网上拍卖下零售商的期望收益函数是采购量的严格递增的凹函数,从而得到零售商的最优采购策略和供应商的最优投标策略。对于多阶段情形,利用马尔可夫决策过程理论建立该问题的最优控制模型,得到零售商的最优采购策略和供应商的贝叶斯-纳什均衡投标策略均与基本库存策略相类似。     

两阶段网上相继起拍拍卖中最优拍卖策略研究

基于序贯拍卖和同时向上叫价拍卖的特点,本文首先提出了网上相继起拍拍卖模式,建立了两阶段相继起拍拍卖模型;在允许缺货的条件下,分析了卖方最优拍卖策略的一些性质,给出了卖方总期望收益的上下限;最后,对影响卖方最优拍卖策略的因素进行了数值分析,得到在某些情况下卖方在第二场拍卖开始时根据当前库存量以及已参与第一场拍卖的顾客数采用缺货策略可以提高卖方期望收益等结论。     

多属性采购拍卖与多属性不对称纳什谈判的比较研究

拍卖与谈判作为采购中有效选择交易对象的常见方式,从最大化采购方收益的角度看,现有理论对这2种方式各有支持。通过运用经典的多属性拍卖模型和多属性不对称纳什谈判模型,将拍卖的期望收益和谈判的收益进行比较,发现2种机制的分界与谈判力量和投标人数这2个指标有关,通过划分谈判力量和投标人数取值的不同区间,找到了拍卖或谈判这2种方式的边界条件以及它们各自的适宜范围。     

Efficiency of Large Double Auctions

We consider large double auctions with private values. Values need be neither symmetric nor independent. Multiple units may be owned or desired. Participation may be stochastic. We introduce a very mild notion of “a little independence.” We prove that all nontrivial equilibria of auctions that satisfy this notion are asymptotically efficient. For any α>0, inefficiency disappears at rate 1/n^2‐α.     

Common Value Auctions with Insider Information

Bidding is studied in first-price common value auctions where an insider is better informed than other bidders (outsiders) about the value of the item. With inexperienced bidders, having an insider does not materially reduce the severity of the winner's curse compared to auctions with a symmetric information structure (SIS). In contrast, super-experienced bidders, who have largely overcome the winner's curse, satisfy the comparative static predictions of equilibrium bidding theory: (i) average seller's revenue is larger with an insider than in SIS auctions, (ii) insiders make substantially greater profits, conditional on winning, than outsiders, and (iii) insiders increase their bids in response to more rivals. Further, changes in insiders' bids are consistent with directional learning theory (Selten and Buchta (1994)).     

不完全信息采购环境下的供应链协调问题： 拍卖机制的应用

本文研究了不完全信息采购环境下供应链的协调问题.拍卖不仅是一种价格确定机制,它也可以作为一种供应链协调的机制.文献已经证明拍卖机制对于参与方的收益及整条供应链的有效性具有显著影响.本文研究了当市场中存在n个供应商1个买者的情形下,拍卖环境满足独立私人值(IPV)条件、且市场反需求函数为对数函数时,批发价格拍卖、目录拍卖及二部合同拍卖为各方所产生的期望收入,并且证明了批发价格拍卖和目录拍卖不能实现渠道协调,而在拥有信息中介的二部合同拍卖机制下系统可以达到渠道协调.     

多属性采购拍卖理论与应用评述

仅以价格作为确定获胜者的唯一准则已经不能满足许多行业采购拍卖的实际要求.实用中,为确定获胜者,除价格外还需要考虑采购品的其它重要的非价格属性(包括其它的成本型属性和效益型属性),如采购品的质量、交割日期和交割条款等.因此,多属性拍卖理论的发展变得极其重要.由单属性拍卖拓展到多属性拍卖已经引起一系列挑战性的问题.文中介绍了多属性采购拍卖的应用领域和需要研究的理论问题;把多属性采购拍卖分为两类(博弈论模型和决策论模型),并对相关文献的建模假设、主要思想和结论进行回顾和评述.     

在线竞价拍购中影响价格变化的关键因素分析

从目前的应用情况来看.在众多的电子采购模式中在线竞价拍购效果最好.站在采购商的角度,从适合中国现实情况的B2B在线竞价拍购模式入手,采用真实案例和竞价数据,从3个方面展开实证分析和研究,即在线竞价拍购模型的应用模式以及为企业带来的经济效益、影响最终采购价格变化的主要因素、控制和改变这些要素对竞价过程和最终结果的影响,最后给出采购商获取最大经济收益的对策建议.     

The Effect of Timing on Jump Bidding in Ascending Auctions

We investigate the role of timing in ascending auctions under the premise that time is a valuable resource. Traditional models of the English auction ignore timing issues by assuming that the auction occurs instantaneously. However, when auctions are slow, as Internet auctions used for procurement often are, there are significant opportunity or monitoring costs to bidders, and the choice of the size of the jump bid becomes a strategic decision. We study the choice in the experimental laboratory by systematically varying the opportunity costs associated with fast bidding. When time is more valuable bidders respond by choosing larger jump bids. Surprisingly, the economic performance of the auction is not significantly affected. We develop a simple model of ascending auctions with impatient bidders that provides insights into the effect jump bids have on auction performance.     

Procurement with Reverse Auction and Flexible Noncompetitive Contracts

This article investigates a hybrid procurement mechanism that combines a reverse auction with flexible noncompetitive contracts. A buyer adopts such mechanism to procure multiple units of a product from a group of potential suppliers. Specifically, the buyer first offers contracts to some suppliers who, if accepting the contract, do not participate in the auction while committing to selling a unit to the buyer at the price of the subsequent auction. For the suppliers rejecting the offers, they can join the subsequent auction with the other suppliers to compete on the remaining units. When the buyer offers only one flexible noncompetitive contract, we find that the selected supplier may accept the offer regardless of whether he knows his exact cost information. Meanwhile, the buyer can benefit from offering such a contract, as opposed to solely conducting a regular reverse auction or offering a noncompetitive contract that does not allow suppliers declining offers to join the subsequent auction. Moreover, we find that the suppliers' information about their own costs has a significant impact on the buyer's decision. When the buyer makes multiple offers, we analyze the resulting game behavior of the selected suppliers and demonstrate that the buyer can benefit more than just offering one such contract. Therefore, the hybrid procurement mechanism can be mutually beneficial for both the buyer and the selected suppliers.     

主体风险规避情形下多属性逆向拍卖利润分配研究

本文针对采供双方风险规避的多属性逆向拍卖环境下的利润分配与采供关系建立问题,构建了非合作与合作博弈模型,分析了主体风险态度对利润分配结果的影响,得出建立和发展合作关系的条件,并确定了利润最优分配比例。结合仿真实验得出：1）采供双方非合作时,影响双方利润的因素：供应商成本参数,参与拍卖的供应商数量等。2）双方合作时,对利润的分配比例,受双方风险规避系数的影响;采购商提供给供应商的补贴受双方风险规避系数和讨价还价能力的影响。3）双方建立合作的基本条件需同时满足集体理性和个体理性,而长期合作的必要条件是双方效用最大化前提下的确定最优分配比例。     

债券发行的单一价格和多种价格招标的比较

债券的发行一般采用单一价格机制和多种价格机制两种招标形式。为了比较这两类拍卖机制的经济效率,本文通过模拟实验的方法,分析了两类招标机制的效率差异。我们发现,从长期来看,单一价格招标要优于多种价格招标。与此同时,多种价格招标机制作为短期的政策调控手段是可行的,但如果作为一种长期政策则不太合适。