DEVELOPING COOPERATIVE BUYER-SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIPS - A CASE-STUDY OFTOYOTA

Over recent years many businesses have recognized that there are stron g competitive advantages in developing co-operative partnerships with suppliers. An important challenge for many companies is to identify th e factors to enable them to move from relationships characterized by s trong buyer power and bargaining position, to partnerships based on tr ust and co-operation. The purpose of this paper is to consider factors that may influence the development of co-operative buyer-supplier rel ationships, A case study is presented which illustrates the developing relationship between an automotive manufacturer, Toyota Australia, an d its suppliers, as part of a new supplier strategy. Several factors a re proposed which provide areas for further research. These include th e consideration of similarities between the industry and technologies of buyer and suppliers, prior experiences of change among suppliers, e ffective communications between buyer and suppliers, and the importanc e of experiential learning in the acceptance of change.