Supplier‐Customer Relationships and Company Performance

This paper describes preliminary research into the effect of different approaches to supply chain management on manufacturing company performance. Three generic models were developed to describe the ways in which manufacturers manage relationships with their major suppliers and major customers. A set of financial and non‐financial practice and performance measures was selected. Practice and performance data were collected from 74 U.K. manufacturers from the clothing and electronics industries. Data supplied by participating companies were used to test the appropriateness of the three generic models, and to investigate the ways in which their supplier‐customer relationships impact upon their performance.