For many retailers, manufacturers, and wholesalers, inventory is their single largest investments of corporate assets. Problems such as stock-outs and bullwhip effect due to sales fluctuation and poor visibility are normal for manufactures. Unnecessary activities, in the purchasing process internally and externally, such as double order handling, cost both money and time. It is widely known that firms no longer can compete effectively in isolation of their suppliers and other entities. The future success of many businesses depends on co-operation and the co-ordination of efforts; making Supply Chain Management important. JIT and VMI are two of the philosophies that have been used to update supply chain relationships and management. By recognising your own supply weaknesses, the need for a supply strategy and a purchasing portfolio which classify suppliers emerges. There is an interest in examining what possible benefits and drawbacks, JIT and VMI collaboration can bring and how they differ from each other. In order to have a successful collaboration and implementation, it is important to know what basis to choose suppliers on and understand what needs to be in place, internally and externally, before starting either a JIT or VMI relationship with different suppliers. An inductive method was used in order to transform the literature review into a case study research. Explanatory and exploratory strategy was combined as well as qualitative and quantitative data collection such as oral interviews and written questionnaires. The case study was carried out at an accessory purchasing department at a large production company referred to as the “Focal company” in this thesis. Also, participating in the study were selected suppliers of the Focal company. The literature review and the case study data was analysed which led to the results that: • JIT and VMI can shorten lead time, improve quality and relationships if used properly, otherwise it can lead to increased inventory levels. • Key factors for enabeling JIT and VMI are common goals, management commitment, accurate information and suitable software systems. • Suitable suppliers for JIT and VMI are companies that have equal dependency and/or have interdependency and are willing and able to contribute to the competitive advantage of the buying firm. • Supplier selection criteria are price, quality, delivery, flexibility, reliability organizational culture, structure and strategy. • Implementation of JIT is not an option today at the Focal company. • With a few IT-system updates, a little bit of education and training the Focal company and most of the suppliers in this study are ready for VMI. • Because of the good balance of power and dependence in the relationships between the Focal company and their suppliers there is a good chance of a successful outcome. • The Focal company’s rating criteria are well correlating with the literatures findings, which further support that they are ready to select suppliers for integrated relationships.

The Swedish alcohol market has for many years been in the hands of the government. The question of the monopoly, its being or not being, has for a long time engaged both Swedish citizens and politicians. Since joining the European Union it has also been on the European agenda, trying to adapt Sweden to the more liberal alcohol politic in Europe. The suppliers find themselves acting on a completely different market than a market based on free competition. The suppliers are faced with one retail channel to the stores which creates dependence and uneven power balance towards the retailer. In addition to this, their marketing activities are strictly limited due to the laws and claims. Corporate Social Responsibility is required goals given from the retailer upon the suppliers. The retailer is also set with strict term and rules from the government and has to gain the Swedish citizens approval in order to maintain their position as the only distribution channel. The supplier, primarily acting on the purpose of selling products and increasing the profit, differ from the retailer who mainly aim to limit and regulate the sales of alcohol. In this difficult market a relationship between the supplier and the distributor is being built up and nourished. The relationship in the supply chain is based on four factors; trust, cooperation, commitment and conflict. These different factors are shaping and affecting the relationship between the supplier and the retailer. The diverse aims of these two organizations, together with the regulations of the market and the dependency between each other, have an effect and shape the relationship. The analyses argue that equal goals can lead to an increased commitment between the supplier and retailer. Further on the members of the supply chains appear to use problem solving to resolve a conflict to be able to maintain good cooperation and increase trust in the relationship. The conclusion is that the retailer possesses the power in the relationship towards the supplier. All the relationship factors are important in this relationship but trust is required in order to obtain cooperation and commitment. Trust is also vital when it comes to solving a conflict.

<p>For many retailers, manufacturers, and wholesalers, inventory is their single largest investments of corporate assets. Problems such as stock-outs and bullwhip effect due to sales fluctuation and poor visibility are normal for manufactures. Unnecessary activities, in the purchasing process internally and externally, such as double order handling, cost both money and time.</p><p>It is widely known that firms no longer can compete effectively in isolation of their suppliers and other entities. The future success of many businesses depends on co-operation and the co-ordination of efforts; making Supply Chain Management important. JIT and VMI are two of the philosophies that have been used to update supply chain relationships and management. By recognising your own supply weaknesses, the need for a supply strategy and a purchasing portfolio which classify suppliers emerges.</p><p>There is an interest in examining what possible benefits and drawbacks, JIT and VMI collaboration can bring and how they differ from each other. In order to have a successful collaboration and implementation, it is important to know what basis to choose suppliers on and understand what needs to be in place, internally and externally, before starting either a JIT or VMI relationship with different suppliers.</p><p>An inductive method was used in order to transform the literature review into a case study research. Explanatory and exploratory strategy was combined as well as qualitative and quantitative data collection such as oral interviews and written questionnaires. The case study was carried out at an accessory purchasing department at a large production company referred to as the “Focal company” in this thesis. Also, participating in the study were selected suppliers of the Focal company.</p><p>The literature review and the case study data was analysed which led to the results that:</p><p>• JIT and VMI can shorten lead time, improve quality and relationships if used properly, otherwise it can lead to increased inventory levels.</p><p>• Key factors for enabeling JIT and VMI are common goals, management commitment, accurate information and suitable software systems.</p><p>• Suitable suppliers for JIT and VMI are companies that have equal dependency and/or have interdependency and are willing and able to contribute to the competitive advantage of the buying firm.</p><p>• Supplier selection criteria are price, quality, delivery, flexibility, reliability organizational culture, structure and strategy.</p><p>• Implementation of JIT is not an option today at the Focal company.</p><p>• With a few IT-system updates, a little bit of education and training the Focal company and most of the suppliers in this study are ready for VMI.</p><p>• Because of the good balance of power and dependence in the relationships between the Focal company and their suppliers there is a good chance of a successful outcome.</p><p>• The Focal company’s rating criteria are well correlating with the literatures findings, which further support that they are ready to select suppliers for integrated relationships.</p>

<p>Background: Forecasting is an instrument that the managers rely upon for their anticipations of the future. Subcontractors control their operations according to the forecast volumes provided by the telecom mobile network equipment suppliers. The information in the forecasts is however not sufficient. </p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to identify and test relevant and available market indicators for prediction of future demand fluctuations on the telecom mobile network equipment market. </p><p>Realisation: During a number of interviews, factors that are driving the network equipment market were clarified. The aim of this part was to identify possible market indicators. Hypotheses were set up to test the chosen indicators. In the second part, the indicators were tested statistically. Finally, the theoretical and logical support of the results was discussed. </p><p>Result: To predict future movements in network equipment demand, the market indicators should focus on the telecom mobile operators, and their ability, need, and willingness to make new investments. The market indicators proven to be of most importance after the regression analyses were long-term market interest rates and telecom corporate bond indices.</p>

<p>Background: Performance measurement as a management control tool has received considerable academic attention. As the number of inter-organisational relationships, such as customer-supplier relationships, increases, there is a new scope for performance measurement as a management control tool. In order for a company to assess the effectiveness of its supplier relationships it has to define, measure and evaluate variables that are critical for the success of the relationship. The role of management control, and thereby of performance measurement, has increasingly been discussed in theory. However, empirical research in this area is still somewhat limited. </p><p>Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to analyse how performance measurement in inter-organisational relationships should be designed in order to be effective. </p><p>Results: Theory which is applicable on performance measurement as a control tool in general also appears to be applicable on performance measurement as a control tool in inter-organisational relationships. Exactly which requirements performance measurement should meet, in order to be effective, is difficult to establish since they often imply a trade-off between different factors. In order to be effective, performance measurement partly needs to be adjusted to the situation, which adds yet a dimension to, and difficulty of, performance measurement in inter-organisational relationships.</p>

Around the world, companies are rapidly moving towards outsourcing to enhance their competitive position in the market through reduction in product development cycle times (costs), demands for better quality, improvement in supply chain management and higher expectations from more discriminating and demanding customers (Lyons and Krachenberg, 1990). An outsourcing mechanism consists of two parties, buyer and supplier. Hence, the success of the buyer and supplier relationship is the main factor to achieve successful outsourcing operations. This research studies the buyer and supplier relationship in each relationship type in the Saudi Arabian market; market exchange, captive buyer, strategic partnership and captive supplier. The main objective of this research was to study in depth buyer and supplier relationships (outsourcing) by discovering which problems exist in each type of relationship, how they can be controlled and what are their effects. It examines and tests certain factors associated with the relationships, such as incentives for their creation, relationship problems, cause of problems, problem control mechanisms and finally the effects of these problems on the buyer, the relationship and the market. The methodology used in this study was as follows: an interpretative research philosophy, an inductive research approach and an exploratory research strategy. Semi-structured interviews were found to be the most appropriate method of data collection because they enabled the researcher to gather valid and reliable data. The research model involved all the components affecting the buyer and supplier relationship. These components were categorized and classified in a meaningful way, describing the flow of the relationship from the research perspective in terms of testing the effect of each component in the relationship between buyer and supplier in general and its effect on the category to which it belongs. The data was collected from purchasing employees on the buyers’ side and sales employees on the suppliers’ side. The total number of participating buyer and supplier firms was 57, distributed across manufacturing and service industries. The first data collection phase involved all the buyer data and the second following up, reviewing and completing the data that the researcher thought had been missed during the first phase of interviews, and which needed to be explained more fully by the interviewees. This phase also involved collecting all the supplier data. 40 interviews were conducted to collect buyer data within three months. The 40 interviews involved 88 recorded hours, and each buyer discussed 4 relationships (not necessarily 4 different types of relationship), resulting in a total of 64 market exchange, 30 captive buyer, 22 strategic relationship and 44 captive supplier relationships, accounting for the total of 160 different types of relationships across the 40 different buyers. Supplier data was collected by conducting 17 interviews within 27 days. The 17 interviews involved 34 recorded hours. While the researcher was analyzing the data collected, a special case in market exchange relationship was found. In this case, buyers preferred to deal with suppliers under a captive buyer relationship though the relationship characteristics were market exchange relationship because of their interests. The researcher also found that Saudi firms are the same as other firms in the rest of the world. They are trying to maximize their competitiveness in the market by improving product or service quality and speed of delivery, reducing product or service costs and enhancing decision making efficiency. Additionally, it was found that relationship incentives, arising from buyer wishes or compulsory reasons, create any one of the buyer and supplier relationship types, which were other than what has been mentioned in the outsourcing reasons in the literature. In addition, the researcher also found that relationship incentives might cause problems, so the buyer should be more careful with them. Additionally, there are also other causes that might create agency problems than those mentioned in previous studies. At the same time, it was observed that there are new control mechanisms, not previously discussed in the literature. The study found that the outsourcing relationship is affected negatively, and there are other effects than those mentioned in the literature by Tezuka (1997). In addition, the researcher found that because of the ‘agency’ system in Saudi Arabia its economy is affected negatively. Finally, the original research conceptual model was found applicable to all types of relationship.

Supplier development (SD) has been intensively and increasingly used in practice and studied in academia. Many studies find that SD can generate operational, capability-based, attitudinal, and financial performance measures for both the supplying firm (supplier) and the buying firm (buyer), but very few studies systematically explain why SD yields supplier’s performance improvements and, in turn, buyer’s performance improvements. Using a meta-analysis approach, this dissertation finds that SD does lead to positive outcomes, but SD is found to have very weak or even negative relationship with performance improvements in some cases. Such findings further support the importance of examining the main research question: why SD works. In order to answer the main research question, this dissertation adopts a multiphase triangulation approach: theoretical construction, conceptual examination, and empirical examination. Doing so, this dissertation constructs and validates a knowledge management (KM) view of SD. The purpose of theoretical construction (Chapter 3) is to develop a KM view of supplier development via a systematic view of previous studies. Presented in Chapter 4, conceptual examination reveals that all SD activities can be subsumed into KM activities, and further conceptually supports the feasibility of the KM view in SD. Empirical examination, including a survey of 39 SD scholars and a survey of 295 SD practitioners (156 complete responses), is presented in Chapters 5 and 6. Most hypotheses are strongly supported, demonstrating the importance of the knowledge-management view of SD. Overall, this dissertation has both theoretical contributions for KM and SD sides, and practical contributions for researchers, practitioners, and educators/students. First, it contributes by supporting the addition of KM variables to other theories when explaining why SD works, confirming the role of KM in SD, providing a complete KM view of SD, and revealing why SD works. Second, it contributes by implementing mixed research methods, integrating multiple disciplines, and exemplifying collecting data on LinkedIn. Third, it contributes by offering a catalog of SD activities and guidance for designing, implementation, and evaluation of SD initiatives. Fourth, it contributes by advancing a mental model to understand SD literature. Conclusions, limitations, and future research directions are also discussed.

Currently, client and supplier firms are struggling with how they can make their information systems (IS) outsourcing engagements more valuable. This research points to the importance of successful practice and outcome in IS outsourcing for achieving engagements of value. To enhance the understanding of IS out­sourcing over time, a process perspective is applied. Further, this research is based on the contention that IS outsourcing is more likely to be successful if challenges are managed in a proactive manner and with a relationship perspective. Thus, understanding challenges in IS outsourcing requires a symmetric view on client and supplier. The thesis is based on two studies presented as three steps of research: development, validation and reconsideration of a conceptual framework. The licentiate study centred on the step of development whereas the present doctoral study has a focus on the steps of validation and reconsideration. The purpose of this study includes investigating how the management of successful practice and outcome in IS outsourcing can be enabled. To address the purpose, the IS outsourcing process is studied in a client–supplier relationship. This includes that different actor perspectives, including strategic, operative, and systems, are considered for a better understanding of the practice of IS outsourcing, the challenges, and how different actors convey successful IS outsourcing. The thesis contributes a framework for relational-oriented management of IS outsourcing, which provides the structure for understanding what needs to be managed in terms of key conditions, when and how in connection to actors, relationships, and process. Theoretical propositions, enhancing the understanding of the complexity of IS outsourcing as well as the number of challenges involved, are also presented. In brief, these propositions relate to the circumstance that IS outsourcing requires management on different levels and with different kinds of results in mind.

The discipline of marketing is evolving from a product centric paradigm where all value is invested in the product by the supplier and it is exchanged for a market determined price by means of an arm’s length transaction, to a service centric paradigm where value is co-created by customer and supplier through complex relationships in which the rewards are determined through negotiation. This study recognizes that in practice a supplier will and ought to continue to have some customer relationships that are transactional and others that involve higher levels of value co-creation. A five point continuum of relationships from transactional to strategic alliance is defined. Dyadic data in which customer and supplier are asked to evaluate the same relationship from their respective points of view are analyzed resulting in a portfolio of a supplier’s relationships that include each of the five levels. Three structured equation models are validated: first, the customer’s assessment of the level of relationship as a function of new, behaviorally anchored measures; second, the supplier’s assessment as a function of new, behaviorally anchored measures of investment; third, the differences between customer and supplier assessments as a function of differences in ratings of new, behaviorally anchored measures. Additionally, segmentation of the customer base is identified based on the level of assessment of the current and desired future level of relationship. Servicing processes are defined to enable the supplier to match the right offerings to each level of customer thereby optimizing their investment in their customer portfolio.

ABSTRACT A USABILITY EVALUATION FRAMEWORK AND A CASE STUDY ON A SUPPLIER PORTAL SYSTEM Babayigit, Elif Fatma M.Sc., Department of Industrial Engineering Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tayyar Sen December 2003, 229 pages The goal of this thesis is to provide a usability evaluation framework in the area of e-procurement technologies and a case study on this base. A survey of the concepts of human computer interaction, usability and usability evaluation techniques is carried out. Additionally current e-procurement technologies are explored and specifically a Company&rsquo / s Supplier Portal System which was employed in year 2003, as an e-procurement technology for the procurement of direct goods, is taken into consideration. Pointing from the findings of the survey, a usability evaluation methodology is developed based on user and task analysis of the Supplier Portal. Within this methodology, in terms of performance metrics of the Supplier Portal, usability attributes to be measured are determined and a checklist for a heuristic system evaluation is developed. iv While a laboratory testing structure is proposed for the case, a usability satisfaction survey and empirical usability tests are implemented with the actual users of the Company Supplier Portal. Descriptive and inferential formal analyses of the survey and field test results are studied, contributing to the Usability Evaluation of the Portal. Lastly further prospects are pointed, where usability, formal analysis, supply chain management and systems design intercept.