Strategic supplier
As a strategic supplier vendor to be understood of a company which are one hand, long-term and tied to the customer and provide him with the other unique items products which are difficult to imitate by other providers.
A strategic supplier is therefore not simply a supplier with a large volume, but one who contributes to the manufacturer's strategic competitive advantage, for example by providing services that are difficult to imitate and that are tied to this customer on the basis of long-term contracts.
The classic strategy theory locates competitive advantages almost exclusively in the internal resources of a company and primarily sees the employees here. Little account is taken of the fact that, even in Germany, notice periods of two months or less are now more the rule than the exception, and that a company can therefore only rely on such a resource to a limited extent. Supplier contracts, on the other hand, very often have longer terms. In view of the increase in the so-called concentration on core competencies , the purchase of strategically important components by suppliers is frequent and important. Examples are:
- Mineral oil and other raw material companies that strive to ensure the availability of their raw materials ,
- Medium- sized companies that have to assert themselves against the buying power of competing corporations,
- Unsecured delivery of essential components or parts on the free market, because even as a niche supplier you have little buying power or
- Development partnerships that must then result in reliable delivery.
As a result of this development, the corporate environment and cluster formation are moving more into the focus of strategic considerations.
swell
- ↑ Schumacher, Sven C .; Schiele, Holger; Contzen, Markus; Zachau, Thomas: The 3 factors of purchasing: strategically position purchasing and suppliers. Weinheim: WILEY-VCH, 2008. - ISBN 978-3-527-50327-8 . P. 183 f.