Managing Opperational Supplier Relationships

Abstract: Background: The Company is in process of increasing the level of centralisation to make use of the economy of scale and get a stronger buying position. A common supplier relationship process on operational level is part of this process. Purpose: Purpose of the thesis is to review and improve the operational supplier relationship management process at The Company. The aim is to define and analyse the process and identify activities in need of improvement in order to achieve a structured and standardised supplier relationship management process for major appliances in Europe. Objectives: In order to fulfill the purpose of this thesis the following objectives need to be met: • Identify, define and map the current state of the operational supplier relationship process at The Company. • Define a structured model, based on the product characteristics, to achieve standardised operational activities in the supplier relationship. • Present recommendations aiming to improve the supplier relationship management process by changes in operational activities. Method: This thesis has been conducted using a systems approach. By combining theories from supply chain management and supplier relationship management with empirical studies from The Company operations a operational supplier relationship process was elaborated and validated with experienced personnel. Result: The thesis resulted in a supplier segmentation model and a process for operational work with Supplier Relationship Management.