Supply Base Reduction: An Empirical Study of Critical Success Factors

SUMMARY One important factor in the design of an organization's supply chain is the number of suppliers used for a given product or service. Supply base reduction is one option useful in managing the supply base. The current paper reports the results of case studies in 10 organizations that recently implemented supply base reduction activities. Specifically, the paper identifies the key success factors in supply base reduction efforts and prescribes processes to capture the benefits of supply base reduction.