A Conceptual Frame for Supplier Management in China

Under the pressure of shortened product life cycle and constantly changing global market, more and more Chinese manufacturers focus on their core competencies and outsource those non-core businesses. Due to this trend, supplier management becomes increasingly important to manufacturers. However, supplier management research is at its early stage in China and there is still deficient systematic study on this area. It is urgent to seek practical and effective theories to guide practice. Based on empirical evidence of supplier management in China, this paper develops a conceptual frame, which provides a scope for supplier management practice. The usefulness of this frame lies in the fact that it may be used to develop a set of supplier management recommendations for practitioners.