In: Operations Management
How would you define a collaborative Buyer-Supplier Relationship? What conditions would buyer and seller need to meet in order to be able to develop an effective collaborative relationship (5 points).
Answer: The collaborative buyer and supplier relationship can be defined as a condition where both buyers and suppliers work in close co operation with each other and enable each other to achieve their goals and objectives. In such relationships, the suppliers and the buyers work in close collaboration with each other and plan and execute their strategies for creating a shared value. They do not just work for their own profit but they work for each other’s interests and create mutual benefits and advantages.
This collaborative partnership results from the certain conditions. For developing a collaborative partnership, there needs to be congruence in goals of buyers and suppliers. This means that they have to work for achieving a goal that has something in common. The second important condition for such partnership is that both the parties should develop effective communication channels so that they are able to understand each other and exchange information in an effective way. The information exchange plays an important role in creating collaboration between both the suppliers and the buyers.