A Managerial Guideline for the Development and Implementation of Purchasing Partnerships

The purchasing function in many United States‐based firms traditionally has maintained adversarial relationships with suppliers. As world markets become increasingly competitive, firms have discovered that close partnership relationships with important suppliers can produce managerial, technological, and financial benefits. This article presents a guide for firms interested in developing purchasing partnerships to follow in pursuit of those relationships. While this guide has not been empirically tested, it was developed on the basis of a thorough literature review coupled with the consistent findings of the author while conducting case studies of six firms involved in successful purchasing partnerships. The article concludes by suggesting the contribution that purchasing partnerships can make to the firm as a whole, as well as to the purchasing function of the firm.