The Vendor–Buyer Inventory Model in Two Echelon Supply Chain: A Systematic Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis

The increasingly fierce business competition has driven supply chains to adopt more collaborative approaches to inventory management, particularly between vendors and buyers. This study comprehensively reviews the vendor–buyer inventory model within a two-echelon supply chain context. By evaluating 147 articles published between 2012 and 2023, we employ a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis to examine key elements such as model complexity, objective functions, and solution approaches. Our findings highlight that most research has focused on the single vendor-single buyer (SVSB) problem, with iterative heuristic methods and cost minimization as the predominant solution strategies. The contribution of this study lies in mapping the existing research landscape, identifying trends, and uncovering gaps that pave the way for further advancements in vendor–buyer inventory modeling.