Contracts choice for supply chain under inflation

Inflation causes an increase in the retail price and a decrease in the market demand, both arise from the problem of seasonal product management and occur during the long production lead time. As an effective tool for hedging against the risks, option contracts, including call, put, and bidirectional option contracts, have been proved to benefit two members in a one-supplier and one-retailer supply chain under inflation. The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of different option contacts on the decisions and performances for both the supplier and the retailer under inflation. Our results suggest that the retailer prefers adopting portfolio contracts with bidirectional options under inflation, whereas the supplier is inclined to provide call option contracts under inflation. Our study also reveals that call option contracts are implemented ultimately by the supply chain under inflation because of the supplier's market dominant position.