Success factors in strategic supplier alliances: The buying company perspective

The emerging area of supply chain alliances has received considerable atten tion in the academic and managerial press, yet there are many unanswered qu estions regarding the dynamics of such relationships. A number of such fund amental issues drive this research initiative, including how alliances are developed, their key success factors, and the specific benefits to be achie ved. The study begins by establishing a definition of strategic supplier al liances, based on a comparison of both theoretical and managerial descripti ons. The critical antecedents associated with the success of strategic supp lier alliances are next developed, and the magnitude of the effect of these factors on partnership success is assessed. The analysis employs both qual itative and quantitative data, collected through an electronic network of o ver 200 companies, as part of an ongoing benchmarking initiative in supply chain management. From the perspective of the buying company in the alliance, the following a ttributes of supplier alliances were found to be significantly related to p artnership success: trust and coordination, interdependence, information qu ality and participation. information sharing, joint problem solving, avoidi ng the use of severe conflict resolution tactics, and the existence of a fo rmal supplier/commodity alliance selection process. Resource commitment and smoothing over problems were found to be poor predictors of alliance succe ss. The implications of these results for managerial, decision making in su pplier alliance development are discussed.