Gérard Cachon - Faculty Research in Knowledge@Wharton

Biggest by Default: Toyota May Be Number One, But It Still Faces Challenges

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:07:39 EST

Toyota officially eclipsed General Motors as the world's largest automaker by sales last year, but its strength is only relative: The Japanese automaker, like its competitors, is struggling against a sharp drop-off in sales and global overcapacity. According to Wharton faculty, after years of conservative growth, Toyota accelerated its expansion in the past decade, making it harder to apply the brakes in the current downturn. The new market dynamics, which coincide with a changeover in company leadership, mean the road ahead may be especially difficult to navigate, they say.

A Precarious Road: How Retailers Can Navigate Inflation's Hazards

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:31:38 EST

Retailers are in a tough situation, locked between rising product costs and a limited ability to raise their prices. Even cost-savvy market leaders such as Costco are having a difficult time. But Wharton faculty say that handled carefully, the current inflationary period may actually be a business opportunity for some companies. The key: Forgetting some of the old rules of retailing.

Retail Price Maintenance Policies: A Bane for Retailers, but a Boon for Consumers?

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 15:43:21 EST

In June, a high-profile Supreme Court case held the attention of retailers and manufacturers alike. In a five-to-four ruling, the high court overturned a lower-court decision to award $1.2 million to a Dallas-area clothing store that was cut off by a supplier, Leegin Creative Leather Products, because the retailer refused to abide by the manufacturer's retail price maintenance (RPM), or no-discount policy. The decision means that manufacturers no longer face a blanket prohibition against implementing an RPM policy. The case has spurred concern among consumer groups, who claim it overturns a century of precedent and will lead to price fixing and unjustifiably higher prices. But Wharton faculty suggest that any changes will be gradual, and may ultimately benefit consumers.

Here Today, Discounted Tomorrow: Strategic Shoppers Know When to Buy, and at What Price

Wed, 30 May 2007 15:38:15 EST

Some shoppers just can't help themselves and buy mostly on impulse without regard to price. Others are die-hard bargain hunters, who only open their wallets for a discount. Then there are the strategic consumers, who are willing to buy full-price sometimes, but at other times they will wait for a bargain. According to new research by Gérard P. Cachon, professor of operations and information management at Wharton, and doctoral student Robert Swinney, it's these customers that retailers need to focus on in order to reap the full benefits of lean retail inventory management and variable pricing.

Can't Find That Dress on the Rack? Retailers Are Pushing More Shoppers to the Web

Wed, 01 Nov 2006 15:04:42 EST

Shoppers with tastes, or sizes, that fall outside the mainstream may have more trouble finding what they want in stores as retailers attempt to shift low-volume items to Internet sales. According to Wharton faculty and industry analysts, retailers are paring back in-store selections in order to save inventory handling costs as well as precious floor space. The strategy, however, has its drawbacks.

'You Can't Manage What You Can't Measure': Maximizing Supply Chain Value

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 15:05:22 EST

Low-cost country sourcing, outsourcing, customization, globalization and more are adding tremendous complexity to supply chains across the globe. But even as companies are rapidly adopting supply chain management strategies in an effort to keep up, experts from Wharton and BCG report that many still lag when it comes to measuring how well they are doing, and balancing the trade-offs involved in keeping service levels high and costs low.

Christmas Creep: The Shopping Season Is Longer, but Is It Better?

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 17:04:17 EST

Call it "Christmas creep." Holiday decorations are going up earlier in stores with each passing year, seasonal merchandise gets stocked on shelves soon after Halloween, and Christmas-related commercials are appearing on TV long before Santa Claus makes his way through Manhattan in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. But is a longer Christmas season good for retailers? The phenomenon of an ever-earlier Christmas season is a boon to the people responsible for supply-chain management, according to operations experts at Wharton. But Wharton marketing scholars and other analysts say an extended Christmas season is something of a mixed bag. It may hold advantages, disadvantages -- or even no advantages -- for store owners.

Who Gains, Who Loses, from RFID's Growing Presence in the Marketplace?

Wed, 23 Mar 2005 12:10:33 EST

In April 2004, Wal-Mart announced a pilot program that would require its top 100 suppliers to be RFID compliant -- attaching Radio Frequency Identification tags on cases and pallets destined for Wal-Mart stores and Sam's Club locations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area -- by January 2005. Showing just how much clout Wal-Mart has, the retailer is boasting 100% compliance. So, is RFID here to stay? Can suppliers benefit from it? How worried should consumers be about invasion-of-privacy issues? A recent Wharton Emerging Technologies conference looked at these issues.

Now Showing at Blockbuster: How Revenue-sharing Contracts Improve Supply Chain Performance

Mon, 16 Oct 2000 07:58:04 EST

Those of us who have been thwarted in our efforts to find a copy of a just-released video at our local video store will be interested in research conducted by Wharton professor Gerard Cachon and Martin A. Lariviere from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Their studies suggest that using a revenue-sharing model can be a smarter way to do business � and provide enough copies of new releases to meet demand - than relying on the traditional wholesale price-only contracts. While Cachon and Lariviere use the video cassette rental industry to make their case, their research shows that the performance of any supply chain can improve under this type of contract.