<p>Small and medium sized companies are important to the European economy and considered as the true backbone of the European economy, being primarily responsi-ble for wealth and economic growth. Further, the purchasing function of small and medium sized companies had become more and more important to firms within the creating of competitive advantages. Additional, former research emphasizes the need of companies to engage in closer relationships in order to survive in nowadays business environments.</p><p>These three issues, - SMEs, its purchasing performance and the relationships the small and medium sized firms are engaged with are interrelated and therefore the essences of the thesis. The thesis is limited to the manufacturing industry due to the potential wide area of small and medium sized companies.</p><p>The purpose of the thesis is to examine the purchasing practices of small and me-dium sized enterprises with a focus on strategic considerations and supplier relation-ships.</p><p>The research project is developed with four single case studies. Participating companies were two small sized manufacturing companies and two medium sized manufac-turing companies, defined according to the definition of the European Commission.</p><p>The study is built on a critical review of former literature and research findings within the purchasing area and the area of small and medium sized companies. The find-ings from literature review (frame of references) and the findings from the empirical study were connected in order to fulfill the purpose of the thesis as well as the developed research questions.</p><p>In the analysis, the characteristics of SMEs purchasing process were outlined. Evi-dence for strategic consideration were found and the characteristics of the companies relationships where established.</p><p>Small and medium sized enterprises have developed its purchasing performance po-sitively in the comparison to former research findings. By using business technology systems, strategic planning and deliberations and finally through building close and long-term relationships, manufacturing SMEs found a suitable ways to perform its purchasing activities successful and found its place in sophisticated supply chains.</p>

<p> </p><p><strong>Background: </strong>In manufacturing companies purchasing is a great part of the total cost and major suppliers have a decisive role for the company. Therefore it is important to emphasise the selection and relationship with these suppliers to make the organization profitable. Sourcing strategies and supplier relationships are the main elements of supplier management.</p><p><strong>Purpose: </strong>The main goal of this study is to underline the similarities and differences regarding sourcing strategies and supplier relationships among the manufacturers of the two industries in order to identify the best practices and possibilities for knowledge transfer.</p><p><strong>Methodology: </strong>This thesis is a descriptive comparative study that was conducted with a deductive approach. Data was collected by interviews of mainly purchasing managers of our studied companies, annual reports and web pages of the companies. The scientific credibility of this thesis was secured by using many sources and avoiding assumptions.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Several similarities and differences have been found between the industries. Furthermore, both industries can learn from each other when it comes to the use of sourcing strategies and supplier relationships.  </p><p><strong>Suggestions on future research: </strong>A more extensive study with more companies in each industry can be made to strengthen our conclusions. Furthermore, scenario simulations can be conducted for the supply of products and see how a manufacturing company can be affected.</p>

Supplier selection plays an important role in any organisation. This study investigates and examines supplier selection criteria and the impacts on buying firm performance; specifically focusing on the telecommunications industry in Malaysia. Previous studies in this area have focussed on the criteria such as quality, price, delivery, supplier relationship management and decision making tools and techniques. However, little research has been undertaken to include government policies and business ethics as elements in the supplier selection criteria. After a literature review and interviews, the development of conceptual frameworks and a number of hypotheses were put forward. To achieve an in-depth study, four major telecommunications service provider companies in Malaysia were chosen as a case study. A questionnaire was used as the main instrument in gathering data. The questionnaire is principally concerned with the understanding of supplier selection and its criteria; based upon the variables that are used for the model and hypothesis testing. The study also investigates the relationship between supplier selection and the impact of supplier selection to the company performance. This model was tested using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) technique with the AMOS software application. Results indicated all of the criteria include quality, price, delivery, supplier relationship management, decision making tools and techniques, government policy and business ethics as valid constructs. A good model fit was also established. The findings of this research conclude that the influencing criteria to supplier selection in the telecommunications industry in Malaysia are supplier delivery performance standards and supplier relationship management even when considering the remainder of the above mentioned elements.The price factors were found to be less important due to this factor possibly leading to unhealthy competition in the market in terms of price wars among the suppliers in order to win the business. Most of the criteria are also interrelated to each other and affect the supplier selection decision. This model has added new perspectives to the study of supplier selection in the supply chain management field. As for future research it is suggested that intangible elements such as political, cultural and social influences are included in the conceptual framework; as this would offer important insight for management bodies in organisation, academia and public policy fields alike.

Cette thèse vise à étudier l’impact du guanxi sur la gestion de la chaîne d’approvisionnement. Dans un premier temps, nous examinons historiquement l’évolution de guanxi et discutons ses impacts sur les performances de l’entreprise. Ensuite, en utilisant des données d'entretiens qualitatifs et une enquête quantitative auprès d'acheteurs chinois en France, nous créons une échelle de mesure guanxi pour la relation acheteur-fournisseur Sino-Française et montrons que l'impact du guanxi sur la performance de la chaîne d'approvisionnement est positif. De plus, grâce aux données d'enquête de 200 fabricants chinois exerçant des activités à l'étranger, nous démontrons que la relation médiatisée entre le guanxi et la performance de la chaîne d'approvisionnement est modérée par la culture individuelle. Nos résultats de recherche non seulement prouvent empiriquement l’importance du guanxi sur le marché international, mais révèlent également que l’efficacité des différents types de guanxi dépend de l’orientation culturelle du partenaire. / This thesis aims to investigate guanxi’s impact on supply chain management. As a first step, we historically review guanxi’s evolution and discuss its impacts on business performance. Next, by using data from qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey collected from Chinese buyers in France, this thesis creates a guanxi measurement scale for Sino-Franco buyer-supplier relationship, and reveals that guanxi’s positive impact on supply chain performance is mediated by supply chain collaboration. Furthermore, through draw on the survey data of 200 Chinese manufacturers with overseas business, this thesis demonstrates that the mediated relationship between guanxi and supply chain performance is moderated by individual culture. Our research results not only empirically prove guanxi’s importance in the international market, but also uncover that the effectiveness of different types of guanxi that depends on the partner’s cultural orientation.

Background: Supply chain relations go far beyond simple transactions of money and goods. Today, with a low depth of added value in most companies, and low prices in China and Taiwan, sourcing in these countries is very common. Managing the relationship with these suppliers to increase the performance of the whole supply chain is crucial. We identified the cultural dimensions of trust, power, communication and time as most influential for the supplier buyer relationship and structure our paper accordingly. Purpose: Investigate the connection between supplier relationship management (SRM) and culture. We investigated which cultural factors in Taiwan and China may hinder a relationship with a foreign buyer and what factors are drivers for a healthy relationship. Method: We conducted a case study with the company Bufab and their suppliers in China and Taiwan. After a literature review, we interviewed nine representatives from Bufab, ten suppliers and one Taiwanese professor knowledgeable in the topic. Further, we did a survey with Taiwanese and Chinese suppliers and added a European reference group to distinguish particularities. We analyzed the findings using content analysis. Conclusion: We identified that the dimensions of trust, power, communication and time are most relevant for the supplier-buyer relationship. The results show that these dimensions have a significant impact on the business relationship between a local Chinese or Taiwanese company and a foreign buyer. Managing these differences can provide the buying company with a competitive advantage.

p. 1-182 / Submitted by Santiago Fabio (fabio.ssantiago@hotmail.com) on 2013-03-25T18:32:12Z No. of bitstreams: 8 Apêndice D.pdf: 86958 bytes, checksum: 16f6abc2fcfce1845930b8c4bf21cb52 (MD5) Apendice C.pdf: 99766 bytes, checksum: 67b965e81e4dcf00e95ff1c240ae45d9 (MD5) Apendice B.pdf: 90092 bytes, checksum: 18964b492022cf5d14e77fc2dfd96bb2 (MD5) Apendice A.pdf: 82609 bytes, checksum: 3417d0ec006d7e619586537477136d48 (MD5) Anexo B.pdf: 64616 bytes, checksum: 5f8da888971f622eddbc865a557cbe5a (MD5) ANEXO A.pdf: 83713 bytes, checksum: 7c626888f1fba6da272fc5c04a93a9dd (MD5) DISSERTAÇÃO_2.pdf: 641434 bytes, checksum: 81abfd6b3788a4c2be1d8d20843aa719 (MD5) DISSERTAÇÃO_1.pdf: 748696 bytes, checksum: aab87c6fca52f2f4416aac7f213a275b (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Tatiana Lima(tatianasl@ufba.br) on 2013-04-08T16:57:51Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 8 Apêndice D.pdf: 86958 bytes, checksum: 16f6abc2fcfce1845930b8c4bf21cb52 (MD5) Apendice C.pdf: 99766 bytes, checksum: 67b965e81e4dcf00e95ff1c240ae45d9 (MD5) Apendice B.pdf: 90092 bytes, checksum: 18964b492022cf5d14e77fc2dfd96bb2 (MD5) Apendice A.pdf: 82609 bytes, checksum: 3417d0ec006d7e619586537477136d48 (MD5) Anexo B.pdf: 64616 bytes, checksum: 5f8da888971f622eddbc865a557cbe5a (MD5) ANEXO A.pdf: 83713 bytes, checksum: 7c626888f1fba6da272fc5c04a93a9dd (MD5) DISSERTAÇÃO_2.pdf: 641434 bytes, checksum: 81abfd6b3788a4c2be1d8d20843aa719 (MD5) DISSERTAÇÃO_1.pdf: 748696 bytes, checksum: aab87c6fca52f2f4416aac7f213a275b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-04-08T16:57:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 8 Apêndice D.pdf: 86958 bytes, checksum: 16f6abc2fcfce1845930b8c4bf21cb52 (MD5) Apendice C.pdf: 99766 bytes, checksum: 67b965e81e4dcf00e95ff1c240ae45d9 (MD5) Apendice B.pdf: 90092 bytes, checksum: 18964b492022cf5d14e77fc2dfd96bb2 (MD5) Apendice A.pdf: 82609 bytes, checksum: 3417d0ec006d7e619586537477136d48 (MD5) Anexo B.pdf: 64616 bytes, checksum: 5f8da888971f622eddbc865a557cbe5a (MD5) ANEXO A.pdf: 83713 bytes, checksum: 7c626888f1fba6da272fc5c04a93a9dd (MD5) DISSERTAÇÃO_2.pdf: 641434 bytes, checksum: 81abfd6b3788a4c2be1d8d20843aa719 (MD5) DISSERTAÇÃO_1.pdf: 748696 bytes, checksum: aab87c6fca52f2f4416aac7f213a275b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2003 / Esta dissertação tem por objetivo geral ampliar o entendimento acerca das relações entre clientes e fornecedores na construção civil, a partir da implantação, em empresas construtoras, de Sistemas de Gestão da Qualidade (SGQ), baseados no Sistema de Qualificação de Empresas de Serviços e Obras (SIQ-C) do Programa Brasileiro da Qualidade e Produtividade no Habitat (PBQP- H), dentro de um contexto de transformações organizacionais. Para tanto, realizou-se um estudo exploratório em 15 empresas baianas de construção civil, qualificadas ou em processo de qualificação através do próprio PBQP-H ou do Programa da Qualidade das Obras Públicas do Estado da Bahia (QUALIOP). Primeiramente, buscou-se descrever o cenário econômico e institucional no qual estas empresas estão inseridas, através da caracterização da Indústria da Construção Civil (ICC) em geral, e do subsetor de edificações em particular. Inclui-se aí uma breve análise da estratégia e competitividade das construtoras baianas. Em seguida, o conceito mais amplo de mudanças organizacionais foi estudado a partir das dimensões da desintegração vertical, da necessidade de estabelecer-se relações cooperativas com fornecedores e da implantação de Sistemas de Gestão da Qualidade. Como resultados a pesquisa indicou que a obrigatoriedade de qualificação e avaliação de fornecedores, decorrente da implantação do SGQ, constitui um instrumento que permite às construtoras selecionar melhor os fornecedores com os quais trabalham, o que tem contribuído para que ocorram modificações nos relacionamentos entre eles. Em todas as construtoras pesquisadas, verificou-se haver relações de longo prazo com fornecedores. Em algumas delas estes fornecedores, ditos estáveis, têm preferência na contratação. No entanto, apesar de a certificação estar promovendo mudanças nos relacionamentos entre construtoras e fornecedores, o estabelecimento de relações estáveis e cooperativas entre eles não pode ser diretamente atribuído ao SGQ. / Salvador

Este trabalho aborda a estratégia na relação com os fornecedores em empresas de alta tecnologia e produtos complexos. Para tanto, foi tomado o caso da fabricação de aeronaves produzidas pela Embraer, que se destacou pela sua estratégia de parceria com seus fornecedores, principalmente na linha dos produtos das Famílias ERJ 145 e E-Jets. No entanto, na sua última linha de produtos, o que se percebe é uma estratégia diferenciada no seu modo de se relacionar com seus fornecedores, o que levou à questão da pesquisa. O presente trabalho discute as opções de relacionamento com fornecedores, do simples fornecimento ao compartilhamento de investimentos e riscos, e as racionalidades subjacentes. As técnicas utilizadas para elaborar o trabalho foram observação direta e pesquisa em dados secundários, revistas especializadas, web sites vinculados à indústria aeronáutica e associações, artigos acadêmicos e documentos da empresa. Além disso, foram conduzidas entrevistas semi-estruturadas, com empregados e ex-empregados da empresa, inclusive diretores. Os resultados mostram que, apesar de as grandes empresas como Boeing e Airbus terem adotado o modelo de parceria de risco desenvolvido pela empresa em estudo, esta hoje adota um modelo híbrido, com foco em lições anteriormente aprendidas na relação com fornecedores. / This paper discusses the strategy for relationship with the suppliers at high-tech and complex product companies. Therefore, the case studied was the manufacture of aircraft produced by Embraer and its unique strategy of partnering with suppliers, mainly when dealing the products of the ERJ145 and E-Jets families. In the company\'s latest line of products a particular strategy is observed in terms of relationship with suppliers, which led to our research question. This paper discusses the options of supplier relationships, from simple supply to shared investments and risks, and the rationales that underly them. The techniques used in this study were direct observation and research on secondary data, journals, websites linked to the aircraft industry and associations, academic papers, and the company\'s documents. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with both current and former employees. The results show that despite the fact that large companies like Boeing and Airbus use the partnership model of risk adopted by the company under study, Embraer is currently adopting a hybrid model focusing on lessons learned earlier in its supply chain.

No contexto atual do ambiente empresarial, a gestão da cadeia de suprimentos surge como um veículo através do qual as empresas podem obter vantagem competitiva. As empresas passaram a ser instadas a alterar o modelo tradicional de relacionamento distante e de curto prazo - mercado puro, com seus fornecedores, por uma relação colaborativa de longo prazo - parceria. A literatura relevante sobre parceria destaca uma série de atributos e características que devem estar presentes neste tipo de relacionamento, para que as empresas possam atingir os resultados a que se propuseram. Nesta pesquisa, desenvolve-se uma análise da literatura relevante em gestão de cadeia de suprimentos e gestão de relacionamentos, e apresenta-se um modelo conceitual, desenvolvido por Mohr e Spekman e revisitado pelo autor, que expõe os fatores associados a parcerias de sucesso. Um estudo de caso foi realizado, durante o ano de 2006, mostrando a evolução do modelo de relacionamento entre fabricante e fornecedor, em uma indústria aeronáutica brasileira, buscando verificar a presença ou não das características do modelo apresentado. O resultado do estudo gera a percepção de que, embora tenha havido uma evolução no relacionamento fabricante-fornecedor em direção ao modelo colaborativo, ainda existe um bom caminho a ser trilhado pela empresa para atingir a relação de parceria preconizada pelo modelo referencial utilizado neste trabalho. / In the current context of enterprise environmental, supply chain management appear as a vehicle through which a company can get competitive advantage. Companies started to be pushed to change the traditional far away and short term relationship model - arm\'s length - with their suppliers for a long term collaborative relation - partnership. The relevant literature about partnership points out a series of attributes and characteristics that should be present in this kind of relationship in order to allow companies to attain proposed results. This research develops an analysis of relevant literature concerning supply chain management and relationship management, and provides a conceptual model, developed by Mohr and Spekman and revisited by this author, that shows the factors associated with successful partnership. A case study is dropped, during 2006, showing the evolution of such buyer-supplier relationship model, in a Brazilian aerospace industry, searching to verify the presence or not of those attributes presented in the conceptual model. Results from the study generates a perception that, although have been noticed an evolution on buyer-supplier relationship toward the collaborative model, there is a long way ahead to meet the partnership referenced at the conceptual model presented in this study.

Supply chain management is a complex process requiring the coordination of numerous decisions in the attempt to balance often-conflicting objectives such as quality, cost, and on-time delivery. To meet these and other objectives, a focal company must develop organized systems for establishing and managing its supplier relationships. A reliable, decision-support tool is needed for selecting the best procurement strategy for each supplier, given knowledge of the existing sourcing environment. Supplier segmentation is a well-established and resource-efficient tool used to identify procurement strategies for groups of suppliers with similar characteristics. However, the existing methods of segmentation generally select strategies that optimize performance during normal operating conditions, and do not explicitly consider the effects of the chosen strategy on the supply chain’s ability to respond to disruption. As a supply chain expands in complexity and scale, its exposure to sources of major disruption like natural disasters, labor strikes, and changing government regulations also increases. With increased exposure to disruption, it becomes necessary for supply chains to build in resilience and robustness in the attempt to guard against these types of events. This work argues that the potential impacts of disruption should be considered during the establishment of day-to-day procurement strategy, and not solely in the development of posterior action plans. In this work, a case study of a laser printer supply chain is used as a context for studying the effects of different supplier segmentation methods. The system is examined using agent-based modeling and simulation with the objective of measuring disruption impact, given a set of initial conditions. Through insights gained in examination of the results, this work seeks to derive a set of improved rules for segmentation procedure whereby the best strategy for resilience and robustness for any supplier can be identified given a set of the observable supplier characteristics.

No contexto atual do ambiente empresarial, a gestão da cadeia de suprimentos surge como um veículo através do qual as empresas podem obter vantagem competitiva. As empresas passaram a ser instadas a alterar o modelo tradicional de relacionamento distante e de curto prazo - mercado puro, com seus fornecedores, por uma relação colaborativa de longo prazo - parceria. A literatura relevante sobre parceria destaca uma série de atributos e características que devem estar presentes neste tipo de relacionamento, para que as empresas possam atingir os resultados a que se propuseram. Nesta pesquisa, desenvolve-se uma análise da literatura relevante em gestão de cadeia de suprimentos e gestão de relacionamentos, e apresenta-se um modelo conceitual, desenvolvido por Mohr e Spekman e revisitado pelo autor, que expõe os fatores associados a parcerias de sucesso. Um estudo de caso foi realizado, durante o ano de 2006, mostrando a evolução do modelo de relacionamento entre fabricante e fornecedor, em uma indústria aeronáutica brasileira, buscando verificar a presença ou não das características do modelo apresentado. O resultado do estudo gera a percepção de que, embora tenha havido uma evolução no relacionamento fabricante-fornecedor em direção ao modelo colaborativo, ainda existe um bom caminho a ser trilhado pela empresa para atingir a relação de parceria preconizada pelo modelo referencial utilizado neste trabalho. / In the current context of enterprise environmental, supply chain management appear as a vehicle through which a company can get competitive advantage. Companies started to be pushed to change the traditional far away and short term relationship model - arm\'s length - with their suppliers for a long term collaborative relation - partnership. The relevant literature about partnership points out a series of attributes and characteristics that should be present in this kind of relationship in order to allow companies to attain proposed results. This research develops an analysis of relevant literature concerning supply chain management and relationship management, and provides a conceptual model, developed by Mohr and Spekman and revisited by this author, that shows the factors associated with successful partnership. A case study is dropped, during 2006, showing the evolution of such buyer-supplier relationship model, in a Brazilian aerospace industry, searching to verify the presence or not of those attributes presented in the conceptual model. Results from the study generates a perception that, although have been noticed an evolution on buyer-supplier relationship toward the collaborative model, there is a long way ahead to meet the partnership referenced at the conceptual model presented in this study.