Managing supply chain relationships

Data are sent to the supplier via EDI, where they are compared with an inventory model for the store concerned. When appropriate, production is ordered for the specific items needed to restock the store to the requirements of the model. Once these items have heen made, the cycle is completed when they are packed, shipped to the store and delivered to the shelf. 

It is hardly surprising that it is extremely difficult to achieve this integration across the whole of a supply network. There are significant implications for small businesses, which have difficulty justifying the cost of the IT system and the associated training. These set-up costs can deter new companies with irmovative products from being able to supply. Recent developments in Internet-based applications are helping to resolve this situation because the implementation and data transfer costs are much lower. 

Key issue How can broader-based relationships be formed between trading partners in the supply chain  

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Managing supply chain relationships the objective of deeper, closer relationships in the supply chain and the factors for achieving them. 

Thousands of activities arc performed and coordinated within a company, and every company is by nature in some way involved in supply chain relationships with other companies (Bowersox 1997b Stigler 1951 Coase 1937). When two companies build a relationship, certain of their intemtil activities will be linked and managed between the two companies (Hakansson and Snehota 1995). Since both companies have linked some internal activities with other members of their supply cheiin, a link between two companies is thus a link in what might be conceived as a supply cheiin network. For example, the internal activities of a manufacturer are linked with and can affect the interned activities of a distributor, which in turn are linked with and can have an effect on the interned activities of a retailer. Ultimately, the internal activities of the retailer are linked with and can affect the activities of the end customer. 

Supply chain relationship management in which performance improvement benefits are shared. 

Supply-Chain Council (see) A nonprofit association of companies interested in supply chain management (SCM). The Council was incorporated in June 1997 as a not-for-profit trade association. The Council offers members an opportunity to improve the effectiveness of supply chain relationships from the customer s customer to the supplier s supplier. Its primary mission is to develop and maintain its Supply-Chain Operations Reference Model, or SCOR. 

In this chapter, we have defined the term "supply chain engineering" and discussed the types of decisions that are made in managing supply chains. We also demonstrated the close relationship between certain supply chain performance metrics and a company s financial performance. Finally, the importance of supply chain management was illustrated in our discussion of the Supply Chain Top 25 (Hofman et al., 2011) and their essential characteristics. An overview of the topics covered in Chapters 2 through 8 was also presented. 

Apparel product life-cycle management (PLM) and supply-chain relationships... 

Preiss, K.J. and P.A. Murray, 2005. Fashions of Learning improving supply-chain relationships. Supply Chain Management 10,18-25. 

In delivering this well-managed supply chain, the aim of the event company should be to diminish obstacles between functions and departments within the organization, minimize activities undertaken, and improve the links between the departments so that there is no unnecessary repetition. External to the organization, the event manager should look to improve communication and relationships with suppliers. 

Fynes, B., De Burca, S. and Marshall, D. 2004. Environmental uncertainty, supply chain relationship quality and performance. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 10, 179-190. 

Su, Q., Song, Y.-T., Li, Z. and Dang, J.-X. 2008b. The impact of supply chain relationship quality on cooperative strategy. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 14, 263-272. 

Scarbrough, H. (2000) The HR implications of supply chain relationships. Human Resource Management Journal, Vol. 10, pp. 5-17. 

Share the benefits of coordination equitably. The greatest hurdle to coordination in the supply chain is the beUef on the part of any stage that the benefits of coordination are not being shared equitably. Managers from the stronger party in the supply chain relationship must be sensitive to this fact and ensure that all parties perceive that the way benefits are shared is fair. 

Nyaga, G., Whipple, J., Lynch, D. (2010). Examining supply chain relationships Do buyer and suppher perspectives on collaborative relationships differ Journal of Operations Management, 28(2), 101-114. 

Wong, A. (1999). Partnering through cooperative goals in supply chain relationships. Total Quality Management, 70(4/5), 786-792. 

Amtzen B, Brown G, Harrison T, Trafton L (1995) Global Supply Chain Management at Digital Equipment Corporation. Interfaces 25 (1) 69-93 Asche F, Gjolberg O, Volker T (2003) Price relationships in the petroleum market an analysis of crude oil and refined product prices. Energy Economics 25 (3) 289-301... 

DuPont Canada has developed a new business model that redefines its relationship to its key customers through managing material supply chains. Working with the Ford Motor Company on processes for applying automobile finishes, the firm found it could reduce the amount of paint used, close-loop the painting system, turn waste streams into useful products, and, thereby, develop new ways to generate revenue (GEMI, 2001). 

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