Strategy

Formerly adversarial relationships between retailers and their suppliers are giving way to cooperative partnerships in which both try to improve merchandise and information flow in the distribution channel system. By cooperating, retailers and suppliers can speed up the replenishment of inventories, improve customer service, reduce the need for markdowns, and cut the cost of bringing goods to the customer. The authors outline the key features of channel partnerships and discuss the reasons for their rapid formation during the 1990s. They describe the changes needed in traditional merchandising and distribution systems to gain the benefits of a partnership and the requirements for a successful channel partnership.

A follow-up survey to one published in the Summer 1991 issue of Sloan Management Review ("How Much Has Really Changed between U.S. Automakers and Their Suppliers?" by Susan Helper) shows that long-term, closely linked relationships have performance advantages for automakers and their suppliers in both the United States and Japan. Although such high-performance relationships with customers are still more prevalent in Japan than in the United States, the nature of supplier relations in the two countries is converging in some respects. The current survey includes more than 600 automotive suppliers in the United States and almost 500 suppliers in Japan.

How can companies combat the overconfidence and tunnel vision common to so much decision making?

How can a board of directors be strengthened so that it can more effectively evaluate a company's performance, assess its management, and act to change the course of a corporation? The authors suggest eleven steps to reform a board's character and fortify its monitoring function. Among them are composing a completely independent board, with no company employees except for the CEO; establishing a lead director; aligning management's and directors' compensation with shareholders' interests; and strengthening the audit committee.

When someone asks, "What is your bottom line?" few negotiators tell the truth. How much bluffing is ok?