What regular activities did buying firms do which improved their standing with suppliers

Today, satisfying the supplier is more important than ever. Because of supplier-scarcity there is increased competition among buying firms, to gain the best resources from the best suppliers. This study reviewed literature about three different types of regular activities which positively influence the buyer’s standing by the supplier. These activities were grouped as supplier development, supplier awarding and information exchange. As a primary data collection interviews were conducted, where purchasing and sales managers were interviewed. Furthermore, a novel way of analyzing interviews was through the help of the three softwares: Amberscript, IBM Watson and Weka. The findings of the interviews were a set of activities, which were grouped into six categories. The six categories are: personal-, information-sharing-, incentive-, evaluation-, event-, supplier-development-based activities. Regular activities related to these categories were found out to improve the supplier satisfaction.