A strategic approach to professional supplier management

Abstract

Companies are increasingly realizing that superior strategic supplier management can create shareholder value. Improving supplier strategies is a starting point, but the application as well as the development of any long-term approach depends on many company-specific conditions: the business design; the strategies on corporate, business, and functional levels; the overall professionalism of a company's purchasing management; the supply market; the portfolio of supply; and the variability in purchasing volumes. A fundamental difference exists between supplier strategies for the entire supply base and supplier strategies for individual suppliers. This article examines various types of supplier strategies and explains how they can be created and implemented. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.