Iman Nosoohi - Department of industrial engineering, Isfahan University of Technology (IUT),
Naser Mollaverdi - Department of industrial engineering, Isfahan University of Technology (IUT),

A key issue for manufacturing firms is planning for outsourced components. In this research, we have considered a manufacturer in a Make-to-Order production environment who has to outsource a special component from a set of suppliers. One selling season is considered and the manufacturer faces uncertain demand during the selling season. A good strategy for the manufacturer to balance both holding and lost sale costs is to initiate capacity reservation contracts with his suppliers. Thus, unlike the previous researches we have presented a mathematical model based on option mechanism that willhelp the manufacturer to select appropriate suppliers and order allocation, simultaneously. The considered option mechanism has a two part contract fee structure (option price and exercise price) and it is at the foundation of practical contracts used by different industries. A numerical example is used to illustrate the model and to investigate how option mechanism improves manufacturer's expected profit in comparison with the situation without applying the option mechanism.

Capacity Reservation, Option Contract, Supplier Selection