Customers have lately become of increased importance in supplier innovation processesthrough inter-firm relationships. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to study how suppliercustomer relationships affect supplier innovation. By stemming from three main theoreticalconcepts, supplier-customer relationships, trust and commitment, and supplier innovation, a theoretical framework to base the analysis on was formed. The thesis utilized a qualitative casestudy research approach, where data was collected from a conducted pilot study, semistructured interviews, and secondary data sources. A small supplier within the Swedish techindustry was chosen as the unit of observation, where the supplier and two of their customerswere interviewed regarding innovation processes they had partaken in together. The results ofthe study indicate that communication and trust are important enablers of initiating jointinnovation practices. The supplier perceived the most valuable resource to receive fromcustomers in an innovation context to be knowledge about markets and demand. The resultsindicate that such knowledge could be easier for suppliers to obtain if multiple customers areincluded in innovation processes, and future research should therefore focus on comparing thebenefits and risks of single versus multiple customer involvement in supplier innovation.

We examine how access to bank credit affects trade credit in the supplier-customer relationships of U.S. public firms. For identification, we use exogenous liquidity shocks to supplier firms in the form of staggered changes to interstate bank branching laws. Using a variety of tests, we show that supplier firms with greater access to banking liquidity offer more trade credit to their customers. We also show that when bank branching restrictions are relaxed in the supplier's state, the supplier-customer relationship is more likely to survive. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

How can suppliers contribute to their customers’ value creating processes? Although this question is crucial for firms’ collaboration with customers and for their competitiveness, it is not clear how firms co-create value with their customers. Research on value co-creation has increased notably the last years. However few empirical studies have been conducted on how value is co-created in the day-to-day activities. Therefore this thesis addresses value co-creation with a strategy-as-practice perspective. The strategy-as-practice enables to link micro-level activities with the structures in which they are carried out as well as the strategic outcomes they lead to. In order to understand the process of value co-creation, a supplier and four customer companies are studied. The empirical context is a technical knowledge-intensive business service company providing its competence in product development and operating in a highly competitive environment. Focus is put on how the supplier’s processes fulfil customers’ requirements and expectations. The notion of value-in-use from the service logic forms a starting point in the analysis of customer’s requirements. Dynamic capabilities in the strategy field is used to analyse the supplier’s processes. Based on interviews, annual reports, observations and workshops, the empirical material indicates that the supplier’s processes play a crucial role for the customer. The findings in this thesis show that value-in-use is a contextual and compound concept that can take different forms as “values-in-use”, “postpone value” and “value-after-use". Understanding customers’ value-in-use requires an open dialogue between the customer and the supplier. In this sense, processes that help capture the more intangible and unconscious parts of a relationship, and the roles the parties take during the process are necessary. A finding in this thesis is that culture enhances certain processes at the expense of others. Another finding is that dynamic capabilities need to be more than well-performed processes in order for the customer to differentiate the firm from competitors. Dynamic capabilities necessitate the combination of smooth processes, understanding of customers’ value-in-use as well as managerial skills in order for the supplier to co-create value, and this in a competitive way.

Diploma thesis deals with the current suppliers rating methodology at the company IMI Precision Engineering, focusing on the rating of specific suppliers and their groups. The aim of this thesis is to improve the existing suppliers output evaluation process and to suggest potential improvements of supplier-customer relationships in general.

The main topic of the thesis is the area of logistics and production with emphasis on saving time and place in the processing of order, the layout of machines, workplaces and warehouses in the production hall. The advantages and disadvantages were analyzed in the selected company, critical points were determined and solutions were designed, comparison and evaluation were carried out with the original condition. The work is based on the theoretical foundations of the subject, collected data from its own investigations and observations of the analyzed processes.

The thesis analyses competitive environment of suppliers of concurrent quality control technology in industrial enterprises and research laboratories. The thesis provides concepts for a creation of competitive advantages and related higher evaluation of costs and diferentiation than competition. Further it compares technologies from various manufacturers, comparing economical and technical parametres. The evaluation of results follows a presentation of approachs to achieve the most efficient competitors fight management. The thesis also include prognosis of future conditions in the business technology sector on Czech and Slovak market and concept of an appropriate format of effective competitive intelligence. In conclusion there is a presentation of a quality and quantity concept evaluation with emphasis on economic gain of presented solution.