Becoming an "Interesting" Customer: Procurement Strategies for Buyers without Leverage

ABSTRACT This paper shares case study results from three succesful manufacturers who have implemented advanced procurement practices as part of their competitive strategy. None of these manufacturers has enough size or power to force suppliers to share leading edge technology, reserve production capacity, or guarantee component availability. But each of these three firms--one industrial, one high tech and one bulk producer--has found a way to access the supplier capabilities needed for the improvements customers continue to demand. The paper describes the strategic supplier-co-operation programmes these companies use to become interesting customers and so improve product, manufacturing and logistics capacities.

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