Supplier Relationship Management: Small, Non-Replaceable Suppliers and Close Customer-Supplier Relationships

The main purpose of this article is to demonstrate how supplier relationship management (SRM) enables the capture and creation of intellectual capital, thereby attaining and sustaining a strategic competitive advantage and increasing supply chain profitability. In order to achieve this purpose, a large part of the article is devoted to exploring the relatively new and unknown field of SRM. It is shown that an organisation must possess a thorough understanding of good supplier characteristics and of the drivers, benefits and requirements for the successful implementation of SRM, in order to enable that organisation to leverage their supplier relationships to ensure the capture of supplier expertise, patents, experiences etc. (i.e. their intellectual capital). The article then explores how the integration of technology in SRM applications can improve the efficiency of supplier collaboration and intellectual capital capture and creation. It is then demonstrated how efficient and collaborative supplier relationships improve supply chain profitability and competitiveness. Lastly, the article explores the implementation pitfalls and trends of SRM that must be constantly considered and monitored by an organisation in order to continually capture and create intellectual capital and reap the full benefits of SRM. This exploration involved an examination of contemporary literature, theories and business cases and subsequently revealed that SRM is a vital discipline/philosophy that must be implemented by any organisation wishing to achieve greater supply chain efficiency and competitiveness. This competitiveness can only be achieved through the mutual unlocking, sharing and leveraging of intellectual capital.

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Buyer’s dependence in value creating supplier relationships

Supply Chain Management An International Journal ◽

10.1108/scm-02-2014-0062 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 151-162 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Anni-Kaisa Kähkönen ◽

Katrina Lintukangas ◽

Jukka Hallikas

Keyword(s):

Supply Chain ◽

Supply Chains ◽

Value Creation ◽

Relationship Management ◽

Supplier Relationship Management ◽

Supplier Relationships ◽

Content Type ◽

Research Gap ◽

Power And Dependence ◽

Supplier Relationship

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine what kind of supplier relationship management activities can be seen as value-creating activities and how those might affect the buyer’s dependence on its suppliers. Power and dependence provide specific insights into the supplier relationship management and value creation in supply chains. Design/methodology/approach – The study utilizes a survey data with 165 cases collected in Finland. The concepts are tested by means of regression analysis. Findings – The findings of the study indicate that the value-creating activities of inter-firm learning and early supplier involvement increase buyer’s dependence, but a supplier orientation does not have similar effects. Practical implications – The results have implications for supply chain managers and practitioners in terms of shedding light on the approaches of dependence and value creation at the same time. Managers need to understand the factors that create dependence, but which also have a substantial influence on value creation in supply chains and networks. Originality/value – The literature review reveals that the supply chain situations in which the supplier is strategically important and its role in the value-creation process is significant, and when the buyer is dependent on the supplier, have rarely been discussed. Moreover, by focusing on the supplier relationship management activities that can be seen as value-creating activities and by combining this to the dependence perspective, this study aims to narrow the research gap identified from the previous research.

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Supplier relationship management – anathema for the South African public procurement sector

Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management ◽

10.4102/jtscm.v7i1.93 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Micheline J. Naude ◽

Intaher M. Ambe ◽

René Kling

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

South African ◽

Service Providers ◽

Relationship Management ◽

Government Procurement ◽

Supplier Relationship Management ◽

The South ◽

Supplier Relationships ◽

The Public ◽

Supplier Relationship

The public sector is recognised as being one of the most important customer groups for many suppliers and service providers because of the volume of public expenditure. Supplier relationship management (SRM) is a necessary tool on which businesses in the public and private sectors rely. However, in the South African public sector, despite the intention to boost service delivery through efficient and effective supplier-management processes, the development of sound supplier relationships is a challenge. The purpose of this article is to provide insight into supplier-relationship challenges and to suggest a framework for implementing SRM in the South African public sector. The research presented is based on a survey using both descriptive and exploratory research. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 15 participants at eight institutions in KwaZulu-Natal. Purposive sampling techniques were used. The findings reveal that the main supplier-related challenges that handicap procurement practices in the province are a lack of experience, a lack of affirmable suppliers, threats and bribes, a lack of integrity, an inability to meet delivery deadlines and quality issues. The findings further reveal that supplier relationships in the public sector are of a transactional nature. A five-stage framework is therefore recommended for implementing SRM in the South African public sector and in order to assist government procurement officials to reap the benefits of SRM whilst supporting the requirements of public-sector procurement.

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