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Supply chains are becoming increasingly complex. The structure of the supply chain and the suppliers who participate in it are critical decisions for managers. The supply chain is no longer simply a source of inputs or services but an integral source of value added. It is clear that in some cases strategic supply chain objectives may require trade-offs, for example, between cost and innovation capability or between managing risk and maximising flexibility. These decisions balancing trade-offs between desirable partner characteristics are critical and can make a significant contribution to business performance. A framework is outlined, based on the foundation of extant literature, within which firms can make strategic decisions on supply chain structure by categorising the characteristics they prioritise in their supply chain strategy. There is also a strong foundation in the literature on developing mathematical models that provide insight into the decision-making process. A mixed integer programming model is specified that incorporates the opportunity for diversification and provides a demand allocation decision. The model is robust enough to allow for single or diversified supplier strategies based not only on capacity constraints but also on risk pooling and minimum performance requirements for key characteristics that form the basis of the strategy. A Lagrangian relaxation is proposed and satisfactory performance results are provided.
Massow et al. (2013) studied this question.