Bakgrund: Valet av leverantör är ett väldigt viktigt sådant för inköpare för att säkerställa strategisk konkurrenskraft och ökade krav på hållbarhet har försvårat det ytterligare. För företag som anser sig värna om social och miljömässig hållbarhet går det inte längre att bara fokusera på leverantörer som erbjuder de billigaste priserna.                                         Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur Hydroware och andra företag inom tillverkningsindustrin hade kunnat förändra sitt sätt att välja och utveckla leverantörer för att uppnå en mer hållbar verksamhet.                Metod: Studien har genomförts som en fallstudie, med en kvalitativ forskningsmetod och deduktivt angreppssätt. Datainsamlingen har gjorts genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer, både på plats samt via telefon. Resultat: Hydroware rekommenderas att först och främst implementera en tydligare process vid valet och utvecklingen av leverantör för att därefter kunna införa tydligare mått och kriterier ur hållbarhetssynpunkt. Ett supplier scorecard har även tagits fram för att underlätta för Hydroware att mäta och bedöma leverantörernas prestationer i syfte att uppnå en mer hållbar verksamhet. Modellen bidrar med ett systematisk tillvägagångssätt för att följa upp leverantörerna, men innehåller även en viss grad flexibilitet. Vikterna som kriterierna tilldelas kan justeras och kriterier kan antingen adderas eller reduceras beroende på eventuella marknadsförändringar eller ändrade prioriteringar. / Background: Supplier selection is a very important choice for buyers to ensure a strategic competitiveness and increased demands on sustainability have made that choice even harder. Companies that consider themselves safeguarding social and environmental sustainability  can no longer just focus on the suppliers that offers the lowest prices. Purpose: The purpose with this study was to investigate how Hydroware and other companies within the construction industry could change their way of selecting and developing their suppliers to achieve a more sustainable business. Methodology: The study was conducted as a case study with a qualitative research method and deductive approach. The data has been collected through semi-structured interviews, both onsite and by phone. Conclusion: Hydroware is primarily recommended to implement at clearer process regarding supplier selection and development, in order to later introduce more defined measurements and criterias regarding sustainability. A supplier scorecard has also been presented in order to simplify the measurement and evaluation of their suppliers with the purpose to achieve a more sustainable business. The model will contribute with a systematic approach to follow-up on their suppliers but also with a degree of flexibility.  Because the weights assigned to the criterias can be adjusted and the criterias can be added or reduced based on possible changes in the market or changed priorities.

This thesis addresses the challenges that firms are faced with when collaborating with suppliers in new product development (NPD) projects under technological uncertainty. A critical observation that is made in this context is that technologies are evolving faster, making products more complex. At the same time, firms become more specialized. Due to increased complexity and specialization, firms do not possess all the necessary technologies in-house and therefore need to collaborate with external organisations to incorporate new technology into their products. Common collaborators are suppliers who become integrated into the buying firm’s NPD project. However, finding suppliers and collaborating with suppliers in NPD can be problematic. In addition, external collaborations also impact the buying firm internally, since it often needs to coordinate its departments. The purpose of this thesis is to explore supplier involvement in NPD under technological uncertainty. Challenges in supplier selection are concerned with the issues of involving new suppliers or relying on old acquaintances, managing uncertainties, the dilemma of whether to commit to long-term relationships or to maintain flexibility, and deciding on which department that is responsible for evaluating and selecting the supplier. The present study of buyers and suppliers in NPD, shows the challenges that are involved in balancing control, reaching goal alignment, and managing transactional and relational governance. Internal challenges investigate the coordination between the R&D department and purchasing in NPD projects where suppliers are involved. The present findings may be of value for firms who engage in collaborative NPD, or for firms who aim to involve suppliers in their development of new products.

En väl fungerande offentlig upphandling är avgörande för att klara de förändringar som vår omvärld står inför. Konkurrensen och effektiviteten inom bygg- och anläggningsbranschen beskrivs ofta som lägre än i andra branscher. Studier inom svensk byggbransch har därför lyft betydelsen av ökad effektivitet genom utveckling av teknik och kunskap i bygg- och anläggningsprojekt. Den offentliga upphandlingen i Sverige uppmäts till cirka 634 miljarder kronor per år vilket motsvarar en femtedel av Sveriges bruttonationalprodukt. En stor del av de bygg- och anläggningsarbeten som utförs i Sverige upphandlas av offentliga beställare vilket medför att de har möjlighet att påverka branschens utveckling. För att främja ett önskat beteende och drivkrafter hos leverantörer kan offentliga beställare använda leverantörsuppföljning samt ekonomiska incitament i upphandling. Studiens syfte har varit att öka förståelsen för hur incitament ska användas i upphandling för att främja effektivare leveranser och skapa drivkraft för leverantörer att utföra, och helst överträffa, det resultat som önskas av beställaren. För att uppnå ett trovärdigt resultat valdes metoden fallstudie. Trafikverket som är en renodlad beställarorganisation med en bred leverantörsbas använder leverantörsuppföljning och incitament i upphandlingar och ansågs därför som ett lämpligt företag att undersöka för att uppnå studiens syfte. För den kvalitativa datainsamlingen har åtta projekt med incitament studerats där totalt 20 stycken intervjuer genomförts. I respektive projekt, förutom i två, har inköparen, projektledaren och leverantören intervjuats för att få en objektiv bild för hur bonus som incitament fungerat i projekten. För att underlätta analysarbetet sammanfattades alla projekt och analysmetoden ”Pattern Matching” användes för att finna likheter och olikheter mellan de studerade projekteten. Utifrån resultat och analys har slutsatser kunnat dras om hur tidigare användning av bonus har fungerat följt av förbättringsförslag. Slutsatsen var att bonus bidragit till att projektet gått smidigare och att det ökade samarbetet men inte att själva slutprodukten förbättras. Det framgick även att arbetssättet för bonus varierat mycket mellan projekten och att kontinuerlig leverantörsuppföljning under projektets gång är viktigt och en kritisk faktor för att bonus ska fungera som incitament och för att främja leverantörsutveckling. Vidare var slutsatsen att incitamentmodellen och formeln för uträkning av incitament bör standardiseras och integreras i systemet för leverantörsuppföljning. Ytterligare en slutsats var att bedömningsgrunderna upplevs som otydliga i dagsläget och att det är svårt att göra en objektiv bedömning. I studien har förbättringsförslagen sammanfattas i tre huvudområden där det första utgjordes av att standardisera arbetssättet kring hur bonus används i projekten sett till aktiviteterna: benämningar, leverantörsuppföljning, fokusområden och bonusnivå. Rekommendationen var att införa riktlinjer att leverantörsuppföljningen bör ske kontinuerligt under projektets gång vid minst fyra tillfällen per år samt att inte alla fokusområden bör viktas lika högt utan ett fåtal områden bör väljas ut som är kritiska för projektet. De områden som har en högre vikt är de områden som leverantören fokuserat på och som sedan utgjort ett mervärde i projektet. Studien visade även att bonusens storlek är betydande där en höjd bonusnivå från dagens föreslogs för att leverantörerna ska se det som incitament. Nästa förbättringsförslag utgjordes av att integrera incitamentmodellen i leverantörsuppföljningssystemet UppLev vilket säkerställer att arbetet utförs på liknande sätt samt medför att leverantörer har lika förutsättningar oberoende vem genomför leverantörsuppföljningen. Tredje förbättringsförslaget var att förbättra bedömningsgrunderna utifrån fem områden vilka var subjektivitet, checklista, kontraktsenlig nivå samt att det ska vara möjligt för leverantören att uppnå högsta poäng vid bedömning.

En försörjningskedja är en komplex process som majoriteten av företaget tampas med, både medvetet och omedvetet. Vid närmare granskning av en försörjningskedja kan denna process brytas ner i flertalet delar, vilket gör begreppet försörjningskedja oerhört stort att behandla i sin helhet. Denna studie avser att undersöka vilka faktorer som är av betydelse vid konstruktion av en ny försörjningskedja samt hur aktörer inom den påverkas. Studien initierades genom att ansamla generell ämneskunskap för att skapa en överskådlig bild av påverkande faktorer kring konstruktion och leverantörer. Vidare skapades en teoretisk referensram av litteraturinsamlingen vars syfte är att definiera begrepp, modeller och metoder samt skapa en övergripande förståelse kring hur denna kunskap kan appliceras och användas. Genomförandet av en fallstudie blev en naturlig fortsättning i studien för att skapa en verklighetsanknuten situation varav begrepp, modeller och metoder kunde appliceras. Den empiriska data som presenteras har samlats in genom både observationer och semi-strukturerade intervjuer med fallföretaget och dess nuvarande samt potentiella leverantörer. Intervjuernas syfte var att alla parter skulle ges möjlighet att belysa sin synvinkel, samtidigt som observationerna var tillför studiens författare att få en kännedom om produktspektra, prototyper och verksamheten som fallstudien återspeglade. När den empiriska data hade ansamlats, analyserades detta material utifrån den teoretiska referensramen där syfte och frågeställningarna kunde besvaras. Resultatet som presenterats identifierar kritiska faktorer i innovationsstadiet som supply chain strategy (SCS) och leverantörvalsprocessens inverkan. Studiens huvudsakliga slutsats identiferar att samspelet mellan SCS, leverantörvalsprocessen och supplier relationship management (SRM) är av yttersta vikt vid en organisations arbete med försörjningskedjor. / A supply chain is a complex process that the majority of companies combat with, both consciously and unconsciously. When observing a supply chain, it becomes evident that this process can be broken down into multiple parts, which makes the concept comprehensive to handle as a whole.  This study aims to investigate which factors are important in the development of a new supply chain and how the stakeholders within are impacted. The study was initiated by accumulating general subject knowledge in order to establish a comprehensive overview of the factors that influence the development of a supply chain and its suppliers. A theoretical framework was created through literature collection, with the purpose of defining concepts, models and methods, but also to establish a holistic understanding of how this knowledge can be put into practise. The implementation of a case study became a natural continuation of the study to create a factual situation from which concepts, models and methods could be applied. The empirical data presented was collected through both observations and semi-structured interviews alongside the case company and its current and potential suppliers. The main purpose of the interviews was to allow all parties to enlighten their point of view, while the observations was up to the study's authors to gain an understanding of the product catalogue, prototypes and activities that the case study reflected. Once the empirical data had been collected, the findings was analysed based on the theoretical framework where the purpose and questions could be answered. The result presented identifies critical factors in the innovation phase such as supply chain strategy (SCS) and the impact of the supplier selection process. The study concludes that the interplay between SCS, the supplier selection process and supplier relationship management (SRM) are of paramount importance in an organisation’s work with supply chains.

Sustainability has become a strategic and high priority focus area in today’s society. Responsible Business is an important part of the work towards a sustainable society, and Telia Company is one of the companies that actively works to take that responsibility. What is important when it comes to sustainability work in organizations is to look at a longer perspective than just the internal organization. Telia Company has a complex network of suppliers that extend around the world and influencing their sustainabilitywork is therefore critical in order to be able to take that responsibility.This qualitative study was carried out in collaboration with Telia Company with theaim of investigating how the company’s sustainability work in the supply chain can be developed with a code of conduct for suppliers. Today, Telia Company has a process for responsible sourcing where one of the cornerstones is their Supplier Code of Conduct document with requirements agreed and signed by suppliers and followed up by Telia Company continuously. The study’s questions were answered by performing mainly two analyzes. The first analysis is an Industry Peer Benchmarking. Based on the analysis of their sustainability processes within the supply chain, the results show that Telia Company in comparison has good and responsible sustainability work in place in its operations to manage risks in the supply chain. In the second part, an analysis is performed on a selection of Telia Company’s customers to examine how the company meets their set sustainability requirements. The results show that the company meets customers’ requirements in an overall way and that requirements are also in place to pass on these expectations to subcontractors. Previous research and studies also show a paradigm shift where digitalization and new trends are growing in society and affecting customers’ awareness. Accordingly, the measures that is proposed to Telia Company for further development of its supplier requirements are to perform trend analysis and market analysis continuously to meet the stakeholders’ requirements both today and inthe future. / Hållbarhet har blivit en strategisk och högt prioriterad fråga i dagens samhälle. Ansvarsfullt företagande är en viktig del i arbetet mot ett hållbart samhälle, och Telia Company är ett av de företagen som aktivt arbetar med att ta det ansvaret. Det som är viktigt vad gäller hållbarhetsarbete i organisationer är att se till ett längre perspektiv än enbart den interna organisationen. Telia Company har ett komplext nät av leverantörer som sträcker sig världen över, och att påverka deras hållbarhetsarbete är därför kritiskt för att kunna ta sitt ansvar. Denna kvalitativa studie utfördes i samarbete med Telia Company med syftet att undersöka hur bolagets hållbarhetsarbete i försörjningskedjan kan utvecklas med en uppförandekod för leverantörer. Idag har Telia Company en process för ansvarsfulla inköp där en av byggstenarna är deras Supplier Code of Conduct dokument med krav som godkänns och skrivs under av leverantörer och följs upp kontinuerligt av Telia Company. Studiens frågeställningar besvarades genom utförandet av huvudsakligen två analyser. Den första analysen är en Industry Peer Benchmarking. Utifrån analysen av deras hållbarhetsprocesser inom försörjningskedjan visar resultatet att Telia Company i jämförelse har ett bra och ansvarsfullt hållbarhetsarbete på plats i sin verksamhet för att hantera risker i leverantörskedjan. I den andra delen utförs en analys på ett urval av Telia Company’s kunder för att undersöka hur bolaget uppfyller deras ställda hållbarhetskrav. Resultatet visar att bolaget möter kundernas krav på ett övergripande sätt och att krav även finns på plats för att föra vidare dessa förväntningar till underleverantörer. Tidigare studier visar även ett paradigmskifte där digitalisering och nya trender växer i samhället och påverkar kundernas medvetenhet. De åtgärder som därför föreslås till Telia Company för vidareutveckling av sina leverantörskrav är att utföra trendanalyser och marknadsanalyser kontinuerligt för att möta intressenternas krav både idag och i framtiden.

The main proposition of this study is to examine Volvo Powertrain's procurement ofproduction equipment in order to find solutions that can prevent delays in futureprocurements. The conditions of the case leads to the theoretical field of supplierdevelopment, which emphasizes the advantages of closer collaborations between thebuying company and their supply chain. Through focus groups with Volvo-personneland interviews with supplier representatives, a step-by-step examination is made ofprior procurement projects. The knowledge generated from the examination is theninterlaced with theory concerning supplier development, which results in a line ofconclusions of Volvo Powertrain’s procurement process and the possibilities to takesupplier development into consideration for future procurements. Finally,recommendations to Volvo Powertrain is provided in the form of an updatedprocurement model called Volvo Equipment Procurement Model.

Despite a general consensus concerning the relevance of supply partnerships to agility, the literature reveals disagreements and contradictions regarding their characteristics and, in particular, their duration. This is, whether partnerships in an agile strategy should be long-term (strategic partnerships) or short-term (agile partnerships). The research joins this debate by investigating the types and characteristics of supply partnerships to achieve agility. The underlying premise of the work is that the type of supply partnership is contingent on the degree of turbulence an agile strategy is designed to face. The research was carried out in the fashion industry, given the relevance of agility in this industry. Specifically, the research focused the supply partnerships developed by the footwear companies in the Macerata-Fermo district, the largest footwear district in Italy. The focus on district companies allow the comparison of several companies sharing a very similar business context, allowing a better control of external variables and increasing the internal validity of the study. The field research consisted of a preliminary survey on agility drivers and agile capabilities in the Macerata-Fermo footwear district, followed by an in-depth investigation on supply partnerships using multiple embedded cases studies. Overall six medium-large footwear companies have been analysed in their supply relationships with respect to five key supply categories. For each supply category, the buyer view of the focal firms has been complemented with a view from the supplier side. In total the fieldwork is built upon 30 interviews with 22 informants from 18 companies for a total of more than 23 hours of interviews. In all cases, except two, the key informant was owner, CEO or general manager of the company, eventually supported by another company manager. In two cases, the interviews data have been strengthened by a longitudinal analysis of purchase orders over eight years. The fieldwork highlights that agility drivers and agile capabilities impact on the footwear companies’ decision of developing agile supply partnerships. Specifically footwear companies that are under the pressure of high-turbulence agility drivers (here represented by a high collection renewal rate) and that have developed strong agile capabilities (here represented by a local supply network and a purchase orders postponement) choose agile supply partnerships with respect to supply categories that are sensitive to the fashion trends and therefore difficult to be sourced in a stable way – season after season – from the same suppliers. The main contribution to theory is related to the characteristics of supply partnerships in an agile strategy and specifically to the apparent paradox of “high-involvement & short- term” relationships (i.e. agile supply partnerships). In spite of the presence of time compression diseconomies in building up partnership and of the loss of relational (non- redeployable) benefits in closing down partnerships, scenarios of high-turbulence can give companies an incentive to look for short-term partnerships. Such finding can support a wider claim that different levels of turbulence call for different agility strategies requiring different capabilities and practices. The main contribution to practice is related to the way agile partnerships are selected, started and ended. Given that many industries are facing an increase in market turbulence, it appears that many companies – even outside the fashion industry – might have to learn how to balance high-involvement supply relationships with respect to a shorter time horizon.

The competitive advantages of Sri Lanka's garment industry, and how these can lead to increased trade with Swedish companies, were examined through a study divided in two main parts. The research was carried out with a focus on the labour force and the social aspects of CSR. It was initiated in Sweden, where the goal was to investigate how Swedish companies select suppliers and what their requirements are in terms of code of conduct and social responsibility. In the following part of the study we examined the corresponding parts of Sri Lanka's garment industry. To identify the competitive advantages and potential problems, we conducted a study on three different factories in the country, where the owners, managers and workers were interviewed. To further expand the survey results we also interviewed additional stakeholders to the industry. In this case a trade union and an organization working in the garment industry. The collected data were analysed using selected parts of Porter's diamond and Carroll's CSR pyramid, as well as the Swedish companies' demands on the social aspects of CSR. In order to identify these requirements, interviews were conducted with four different people at the Swedish companies. We were also given access to documents with their code of conduct. Through our analysis we are able to identify the competitive advantages that exist within the industry. In addition to that we are able to identify the areas of the industry where problems exist today, but where Sri Lanka has the opportunity to strengthen its competitive advantages in order to become a more attractive partner for Swedish companies.

By the end of 20th century many industries including automotive supply industry have undergone significant merger and acquisition activity. Mergers and acquisitions have led to geographical expansions of OEM’s (Origininal Equipment Manufacturer) across country borders and across continents. This tendency can be explained by the pressure to manufacture better equipments and less expensive vehicles which lead to specialization and internationalization of the truck industry. Plus, these consolidation trends are still actual phenomena in truck industry and can bring structural and strategic changes in the supply chain. Apparently. these trends bring a challenge for automotive suppliers, which is how to sustain competitive market position after the merger of important customers. By using the example of Scania and MAN consolidation, this research adopts case-study method with qualitative approach. The intent is to clarify how the buyer–supplier re-lationship is influenced by post-merger sourcing strategy in the automotive industry, with the purpose to investigate and analyze supplier strategic response mechanisms against pos-sible impacts of post-merger sourcing strategy in truck industry. The findings emphasize the importance of sourcing strategy changes in achieving the motives of the merger. We also identify a set of specific supplier selection criteria that appear to cause changes in the sourcing strategy of merged OEMs which, ultimately, influ-ence their purchase decisions.Then it is observed that dimensions like interaction, power-balance, and collaboration in buyer-supplier relationships vary with regards to sourcing strategy changes. Together, the findings contribute to our understanding of the strategic reponse mechanisms like business reengineering and restructuring through which suppliers can improve their market-related performance and better postion themselves in front of the merging customers.

The research presented in this thesis has focussed on exploring buyer- supplier relationships from a human perspective. To date, researchers across the globe have studied buyer-supplier relationships and endeavoured to find means to try to make them better. This has led to many new relationship development programmes initiated by companies and new concepts introduced by academics for the betterment of buyersupplier relationships. The focus of academics has been in trying to study buyersupplier relationships from various factors, viz. power, opportunistic behaviour, unethical behaviour, partnerships, collaborations, etc. All these endeavours have focussed on using technology or business processes in order to streamline operations and create environments, which would foster partnerships or collaborations. One aspect not usually given prominence in these studies has been the presence of humans in the relationship as representatives of the transacting companies. Giving this more focus, the researcher feels that organisational culture plays a very strong role in the way organisations operate, and when two organisations transact with each other the individual culture is bound to play a role in the way the transaction is conducted. The individual culture of the organisation also depends upon the humans in the organisation. Since, the focus of the research was on exploring the buyer-supplier relationships from a human perspective, the research sought this perspective from people working in purchasing or sales functions in different companies. The information was collected by conducting "Phenomenological Interviews" with focus on "critical incidents" affecting the relationship. The information was analysed for themes which led to the need to study buyer-supplier relationships from two perspectives: 1) game-like behaviour, 2) discretion, humans have in the relationship. The presence of game-like behaviour and humans in the relationship led the researcher to study the concepts of "Transactional Analysis" and check for the feasibility to transfer the concepts from a therapeutic setting to buyer- supplier relationships. The research has been successful in exploring issues affecting buyer-supplier relationships. A methodology for aligning supply chains by taking into account human issues has been proposed. The methodology comprises a relationship framework that is used for studying buyer-supplier relationships on a macro- level based on the levels of satisfaction the entities have with each other. Since high levels of dissatisfaction lead to various change- inducing transactions or game-like behaviour between the entities, the framework identifies the status of the relationship, and can be used to gauge what's going to happen to it, once the transaction is over. The concepts of Transactional Analysis and the tools associated with it, viz. Drama Triangle analysis and structural modelling are useful in studying the dynamics of the transactions from the human perspective and also from a psychological perspective.