Fred Lemke

Investigating the meaning of supplier-manufacturer partnerships: an exploratory study

Supplier partnerships can be the key in enhancing the performance of manufacturing companies. Consequently, partnership has been strongly recommended by academics and practitioners alike. Surprisingly, the concept of partnership is only poorly understood. Many authors have identified the advantages that it can bring but far less has been published on the attributes of partnership itself. What is known is that partnerships are “close” relationships and thus, the level of relationship closeness is an appropriate angle for exploring supplier partnerships. Research was conducted using the repertory grid technique with an exploratory sample of ten managers from four German engineering companies. It revealed that supplier partnerships are very different from other forms of relationship and identified five distinct attributes of partnerships. These findings have a number of implications for both practitioners and researchers.

Repertory Grid Technique

Psychology is a science that focuses on understanding the workings of the brain and how people think. In attempting to understand such complex processes, psychologists do not ask direct questions such as “how do you think?” However, in trying to understand their customers, many companies rely solely on direct questions posed through focus groups and surveys. The challenge in understanding customers should not be underestimated—sophisticated approaches are necessary to generate the insights to develop breakthrough product concepts. So it is not surprising that an approach developed for psychology—repertory grid technique—has important applications in market research.

Manufacturer‐supplier relationships: An empirical study of German manufacturing companies

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 relationships. However, there has been relatively little empirical research on how supplier management is applied.Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents research probing how manufacturers manage their suppliers and takes a sample from Germany – which has a large manufacturing sector. In‐depth interviews with purchasing managers were used to understand whether relationships with suppliers were being utilised.Findings – The analysis of the data indicates that a significant portion of the companies surveyed had experienced a change in their relationship with suppliers in the last few years. In the main, relationships had become closer and the use of partnerships was in evidence.Practical implications – The research re...

Supplier Base Management: Experiences from the UK and Germany

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 their suppliers. The research was conducted in two stages. First, a postal survey of German and UK manufacturers identified the supplier base trends. Second, a follow‐up telephone survey of a random sample of German plants investigated supplier management processes. The findings show that German manufacturers have not reduced their supplier base by as much as their UK counterparts. However, German manufacturers that have reduced their supplier base perceive significant benefits. Currently, many companies appear to have failed to recognize the potential of working with a reduced supplier base.

Supplier management in German manufacturing companies : An Empirical Investigation

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 competitive advantage. This paper presents the results of a study of supplier management practices in Germany, contrasted against those in the UK. It identifies a key difference – German manufacturers have not reduced their supplier base as much as the companies in the UK. However, it appears that German manufacturers will be reducing their supplier base in the near future, although they are likely to follow a policy of multiple sourcing rather than single‐sourcing from suppliers. The results of the research have strong implications for German companies as they clearly indicate the potential for performance improvement through the adoption of best practices in the field of supplier management.

Teaching reputational risk management in the supply chain

Purpose – In the supply chain context, professionals manage various risks that have the potential to disrupt supplies. Surprisingly, one kind of risk is often overlooked: reputational risk. It is critical to recognise the risk potential that impacts on the reputation of the organisation. Furthermore, managers require an appropriate tool set to control it. The present paper aims to have a twin focus: first, it will lay out the basic premises behind corporate reputation, reputational risk, and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Second, the practical implications will be addressed that lead to a substantial teaching component.Design/methodology/approach – The present paper is based on two research stages. Initially, the authors adopted the “reflective practitioner” philosophy that aimed at discovering the common beliefs in practice that explain working processes and management thought. In particular, they explored the foundation of CSR, reputation and risk management with specialists in dedicated worksho...

A study of R&D portfolio management among UK organisations

Portfolio management is a decision process where a companys list of active new products is constantly updated and revised. In this process, new products are evaluated, selected and prioritised, with resources being allocated accordingly. Portfolio management is considered to be an important activity, but research suggests that it may be one of the weakest areas in a companys new product development process. While many methods have been proposed, there have been very few studies of their actual usage, especially by UK-based companies. This paper presents research into how seven UK manufacturing companies (from several industrial sectors) managed their portfolios of Research and Development (R&D) projects.

Surveys and Interviews

Surveys are the classic tool for market research and because they are ubiquitous, every one of us has at some time been asked to answer survey questions. Writing survey questions is deceptively difficult and, consequently, many questionnaires are so badly phrased or designed that the results are of little value. Therefore, it is absolutely essential for marketers to become good at survey technique. Although customers may have difficulties in answering direct questions about their future product requirements, surveys and interviews remain at the heart of market research and they are essential complement to newer methods for identifying hidden needs.

Ethnographic Market Research

Most marketing executives regularly visit customers and they will often observe them using products. However, casual observation and informal discussions with customers are unlikely to lead to breakthrough products. Also, such visits cannot be compared with the thoroughness of ethnographic market research, which has two main elements: systematic observation and contextual interviewing. There is nothing casual about the way ethnographers study tribal cultures and so, in this chapter, we will stress the need to plan and conduct observation in a similarly meticulous way. “Systematic observation is a research method in which events are selected, recorded, coded into meaningful events, and interpreted by non-participants.”2 This definition contains several elements that differentiate systematic observation. First, what is observed is selected, which means that the times at which we observe customers interacting with products need be chosen carefully. Second, coding implies that data are categorized in a painstaking way to reveal underlying meanings and issues. Finally, the definition’s reference to nonparticipants implies that the interpretation is made objectively.

Combining the Techniques: Designing Breakthrough Products and Services

We opened this book by commenting on the large number of new products and services that fail and we have stressed throughout that understanding customers’ hidden needs is essential to the successful development of breakthrough products. To identify hidden needs, innovative techniques for market research need to be combined with more traditional ones. Using a combination of techniques generates deeper insights and also allows the results to be triangulated (crosschecked). But recognizing hidden needs is only the first challenge; creative product and service concepts need to be developed that address the hidden needs. In this chapter we explain how to combine different market research techniques to gain deeper market insights and then we discuss how these insights can be used to design breakthrough products. The approach we will present is not theoretical; it is based on our experiences working with a number of leading organizations including Agilent Technologies and Bosch Packaging Technology in the manufacturing sector, and VirginMoney in the financial services sector.