Developing the preferred supplier relationships - a case study

The manufacturer-supplier relationships along the manufacturing supply chains have become the rich sources for generating the sustainable competitive advantages. Consequently in developing these relationships, often the manufacturers are inclined to have preferred supplier relationships established so as to cater their long-term requirements. In this regard, a manufacturer must adopt a scientific process to favourably associate with few selected suppliers and eventually choose to develop the right suppliers in order to generate the supply base advantages over the other manufacturers. However, in practice often the right suppliers are not systematically promoted and thereby the opportunities for achieving the potential growth of manufacturing supply chains are greatly lost. Considering this issue, the current study is focused on proposing a systematic approach for establishing the preferred supplier relationships. By implementing the proposed process, a manufacturer can ensure that the right suppliers are professionally endorsed and the manufacturer-supplier relationships are optimally flourished.