Improving supplier delivery performance

Abstract

For a fast-growing company, managing lead times efficiently is essential for acquiring market shares. When outsourcing, lead time management extends past the company’s border and includes the whole supply chain and many relationship-related complications arise. Therefore, this thesis aimed to present recommendations for improving the lead time from one key supplier of the case company and also investigated problems connected to reducing lead times. In order to answer the research question, several interviews were held with the case company, the case company’s supplier, and sub-suppliers. It was also crucial to map the current lead time, which was done by analyzing historical data to support the qualitative methods. The thesis presents seven recommendations to guide the case company and its supplier towards reduced lead time. The recommendations emphasized the need to take the whole supply chain into account for reaching success and how essential a functioning relationship is to achieve an efficient supply of goods.