A key issue for manufacturers is supplier management, i.e. organising theoptimal flow of high quality, value-for-money materials or components fromappropriate innovative suppliers. Many companies now recognise the central rolethat supplier management plays in achieving long-term competitive...

Streamlining the supplier base is a common approach in many US and UKmanufacturing companies. However, is this approach being adopted in Germany asfast as it has in the UK? This paper describes research that answers thisquestion and investigates how German companies are managing contacts with...

A comparison of UK and German manufacturing plant performance for the Engineering and Electronics industries is presented, based on data collected as part of the Best Factory Award process in each country. In the Engineering sector, significant differences in performance were found in four...

A key issue for manufacturers is supplier management, i.e. organising the optimal flow of high quality, value‐for‐money materials or components from appropriate innovative suppliers. Many companies now recognise the central role that supplier management plays in achieving long‐term...

Purpose – Effective management of suppliers is one of the ways manufacturing companies can improve their performance. Typically, it has been argued in the literature that close relationships with suppliers should be developed, in contrast to the traditional price‐driven transactional...

Streamlining the supplier base is a common approach in many US and UK manufacturing companies. However, is this approach being adopted in Germany as fast as it has in the UK? This paper describes research that answers this question and investigates how German companies are managing contacts with...