Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Senja Svahn
Faculty of Business and Technology Management, Tampere University of Technology, Tampere, Finland, and
Mika Westerlund
Department of Marketing and Management, Helsinki School of Economics, Helsinki, Finland
Abstract
Purpose Purchasing has emerged as a key source of competitive advantage. This paper aims to explore how different purchasing strategies are
connected to complex supply relationships and to the goal of purchasing.
Design/methodology/approach The study draws on the literature on industrial network theory and industrial buying behaviour.
Findings The contribution describes six types of purchasing strategies that firms exert. These strategies depend on the complexity of supply
relationships and the buyers purchasing goal. Conventional products and services are bought through transactional exchange relationships, whereas
strategically important items are purchased through intentional supply networks.
Practical implications Purchasing strategies of a firm emphasise either efficiency or effectiveness of operation. The type of exchange varies
according to the nature of supply relationships: it is either transactional or relational. A key implication for managers is that they should recognise the
goal of buying, the strategic importance of the object of purchasing, and choose accordingly between the different types of supplier structures.
Originality/value The paper shows that firms purchasing strategies depend on the nature of their supply relationships and the motive for
purchasing. Different strategies emphasise different aspects and events that ultimately manifest themselves in the firms business models.
Keywords Buyer-supplier relationship, Supply chain management, Purchasing
Paper type Conceptual paper
173
effectiveness is linked with improvement and valueorientation (Macbeth, 1994; Axelsson and Wynstra, 2002,
p. 214). From the efficiency perspective of view, purchasing
adds value to the organisation by providing the lowest cost to
the firm as well as by managing the supplier relationships
(Cavinato, 1999). The buyers expectations in a buyer-seller
relationship emphasise the awareness of competitive prices
and efforts to minimise the costs (Cavinato, 1999). Thus, the
added-value of purchasing is based on acquiring the lowest
price and meeting the related information needs, and the
specific ways for seeking efficiency of operation are: the
rationalisation of administrative costs, the rationalisation of
production costs, and the rationalisation of material flow costs
(Gadde and Hakansson, 1994; Gadde and Hakansson, 2001,
pp. 3-5). The established criterion of efficiency has often
resulted in multiple sourcing, as supplier competition has
been given priority. By promoting competition among
suppliers, customers are expected to be given both better
control of price levels and more reliable supply through the
diversification of risks (Gadde and Hakansson, 1994).
However, the traditional view of efficiency in purchasing
does not allow for making direct use of the total resources of
the suppliers, because it refers to transactional market
exchange.
The specific way of seeking operational effectiveness is the
business development activity through supplier relations
(Gadde and Hakansson, 1994; Ford et al., 2003). In this
situation, the added-value of purchasing supports the
generation of innovation through a network of actors. Hyun
(1994) argues that in a stable business environment, many
companies opt to improve efficiency, but the environmental
change demands increased flexibility and innovativeness.
Thus, from the purchasing perspective, the buyers
expectations relate to the ability to create novel packages of
products and services for internal and external partners
(Cavinato, 1999). This notion is consistent with Dubois and
Gadde (2000), who point out that the customisation of
products and service solutions improve both efficiency and
innovation. Adapted solutions reduce the need for
adjustments and thus increase efficiency or site operations,
and customised solutions stimulate the differentiation of
offerings. In sum, seeking effectiveness through supplier
relationships provide customers with opportunities for
rationalisation and for development activities (Hakansson,
1987; Gadde and Hakansson, 1994). However, such effects
do not follow automatically from a concentration on fewer
suppliers. Suppliers resources and the quality of relationships
become dominant aspects in the success of concentration. In
this respect, the key decisions to consider must involve
optimising the size and number of actors who belong to the
supply network, and choosing the appropriate partners.
Complexity of
relationship
Transactional
exchange
Relational
partnerships
Collaborative
network
Price minimiser
Adaptator
Bargainer
Projector
Clockwiser
Updator
Transactional
exchange
Relational
partnerships
Collaborative
network
Efficiency
Effectiveness
Price minimiser:
Single purchase
Focus on price
Many competing suppliers
One time purchasing event
Bargainer:
Long-term orientation
Repetitive purchases
Dyadic partner
Diminishing price
according to the length of
contracts
Clockwiser:
Strategic procurement
Key partner network
Decreased number of
suppliers
Better knowing of chosen
suppliers
Adaptator:
Single purchase
Significant purchasing
After sales experts
Maintaining services
Projector:
R&D project
Repetitive purchases
Dyadic partner
Win-win situation
Updator:
Strategic procurement
Long-term R&D
collaboration
Updated product
versions
Mutual knowledge
transfer
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