the other customers’ chains, and the location of the
inventory within the chain is defined together. The
cooperation with the contract manufacturer and
wholesalers or marketing company was very limited.
As a result there were unnecessary stocks and
handling in all companies. On the other hand, the
companies planned to decrease inventories by using
cross-docking and increasing direct deliveries.
In addition, the use of EDI is making information
flow more effective than prior to the EDI system
introduction.
Although single-sourcing and long-term relations
were used by customers, profit sharing and
openness in negotiations were not common among
wholesalers and marketing companies. Also, supplier-
development or chain-coordination activities
were unknown to customers, whereas the role of
the contract manufacturer was very active. The
company had a large influence over new-product
and technology development. The contract manufacturer
also took an active approach to improve
competitiveness.