Understanding supply chain improvement

This article sets out to explore one particular aspect of partnership sourcing: how suppliers cope with the demands of multiple customers, each of whom has a different style of partnership. The article begins by describing the rationale behind the move to customer-supplier partnership. It then moves on to present and discuss a case study of how one supplier transformed itself to cope with the competitive pressures of the modern business environment and, in so doing, developed the ability to deal effectively with the differing purchasing styles and needs of its customers. The article then proposes three complementary models of supply chain improvement which, taken together, allow for a more differentiated analysis of the phenomenon, and provide a more robust basis for theoretical development. The article concludes that those suppliers who seek/achieve world class status are not only in a position to accomodate the differing approaches of their customers but can also, to a limited extent, choose which customers to supply.