Author(s)

Gerhard Lechner

University of West Hungary, Sopron, Hungary.

Due in part to the very high proportion of value creation at suppliers outside of the company, especially in the case of manufacturing companies, the development of the company is strongly influenced by them. Suppliers are increasingly involved in processes of their customers or even take over processes by themselves. As a result, the management of supplier relationships through purchasing is important. Above all, the management of “small, non-replaceable” suppliers is a challenge. Therefore, the type of cooperation with such suppliers as well as the implementation of special management activities is examined. Furthermore, the effects of close customer-supplier relationships are determined with regard to readiness for change. One finding is that the majority of companies work with “small, non-replaceable” suppliers and closely control them to quickly intervene in case of performance deviations. With regard to cooperation with suppliers, with whom there is a close relationship, it should be noted that in the case of big differences in purchase prices compared to the market and in the case of major quality or logistics problems, the close relationship does not protect against a change of supplier.

Customer-Supplier Relationship, Innovation, Logistics Problem, Quality Problem, Supplier Relationship Management

Lechner, G. (2019) Supplier Relationship Management: Small, Non-Replaceable Suppliers and Close Customer-Supplier Relationships. Open Journal of Business and Management, 7, 1451-1459. doi: 10.4236/ojbm.2019.73099.