This paper studies a dynamic procurement and production process used by many automakers, and BMW in particular. An automaker (she) must procure components from an upstream supplier (him) to assemble cars in a given production period. Demand for cars is stochastic and retail prices are...

We examine how financial constraints in portfolios of suppliers affect cash holdings at the level of the customer. Utilizing a data set of private and public French companies and their suppliers, we show that customers rely on their financially unconstrained suppliers to provide them with backup...

Financial and operational supply chain risks are often managed independently, by managers in different business units and with widely-varying viewpoints. Yet, differences in incentives often result in a mismatch in priorities and processes. In 2008, BMW established the Raw Material Management...