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International audience

International audience; To perform well, firms need competent suppliers who are ready to invest time and resources. However, the best suppliers can choose the clients that they prefer to work closely with; therefore, clients have to compete for these suppliers’ attention and find ways to become more attractive. Developing different relationships with suppliers according to the role they are expected to play for the firm is vital (Bensaou, 1999) and, regardless of the nature of the relationship, it is important to define and implement appropriate operating procedures to develop a cooperative advantage (Kanter, 1994) or a collaborative advantage (Dyer, 2000). Marketing strategies used by clients to attract customers are well studied; the “other side” of the attractiveness issue exists as well (Brokaw and Davidson, 1978; Leenders and Blenkhorn, 1988). More recently, the related concepts of customer attractiveness, supplier satisfaction, and preferential customer status have interested several researchers in supply management. In this empirical research we decided to focus on the concept of “preferred customer”. Since this concept is complex and strongly determined by contextual factors, we chose the case study method as an explanatory method (Johnston et al., 1999; Dubois and Araujo, 2007), to understand how a purchasing firm can convince a supplier to be its preferred customer.

National audience

National audience; The aim of this conceptual paper is to highlight how to support implementation of collaborative relationships with suppliers within the purchasing firm. We contend that firms have to develop their internal collaborative purchasing capital to then be capable of implementing greater collaborative relationships with suppliers. First, we explore the importance of consistency in internal and external relationships. Second, we address specificities of a collaborative approach with suppliers. Third, we propose ways to develop collaborative capital inside the purchasing firm at the buyer level, at the buying center level and for the entire firm.; Cet article conceptuel a pour objectif d’identifier et de comprendre la mise en œuvre de relations de collaboration avec les fournisseurs au sein de l'entreprise acheteuse. Nous soutenons que les entreprises doivent développer leur capital d'achat collaboratif interne (entre services de l’entreprise concernés par l’achat) pour ensuite être capables de mettre en œuvre de meilleures relations de collaboration avec les fournisseurs. Dans un premier temps, nous explorons l'importance de la cohérence dans les relations internes et externes. Dans un deuxième temps, nous présentons les spécificités d'une approche collaborative avec les fournisseurs. Enfin, nous proposons des moyens de développer le capital de collaboration à l'intérieur de l’entreprise acheteuse au niveau de l'acheteur, au niveau du centre d'achat et pour l'ensemble de l’organisation.

International audience

Officially labelled in France during the summer of 2005, the poles of competitiveness bring together, in more than 30 geographical territories of the French national territory, corporations, universities, research institutes and local collectivities around a local innovation dynamic at both the national and international levels. Presented as a new form of industrial organisation, are these poles already producing new types of practices to facilitate working together? Will they necessitate or contribute to the development of new human resources management techniques while, at the same time, constituting social innovation laboratories? First, an overview of the current situation will compare the poles of competitiveness to the clusters, already well analysed in the literature, in order to induce potential human resource management (HRM) issues. A review of an inter-corporation cooperation experience, which served as a reference in the emergence of the poles of competitiveness, will then reveal the tensions existent in the existing HRM practices, and pleads for the development of new practices. An exploratory study of the actors of a pole of competitiveness currently under construction will show the differing perceptions of the HR issues, and also the need for social innovations.

Purchasing function in manufacturing firms has evolved since 1990's due to many changes, as the implementation of supply chain management, outsourcing, etc. It raises the question of the activities and the competencies of production buyers today. Several studies focused on buyer's activities and competences; most of them examined “required activities and competencies”. However, it would be also interesting to conduct a job analysis by examining the activities and competences really employed by purchasers on their daily job. This paper proposes a typology of production buyers resulting from the analysis of 170 responses of purchasers. These profiles could help purchasing and human resources managers to identify production buyers' profiles, evaluations, etc., Les évolutions vécues par la fonction achats au sein des entreprises industrielles depuis plus d'une dizaine d'années (mise en place du supply chain management, externalisation, etc.) posent la question du contour du métier d'acheteur de production aujourd'hui. Les recherches antérieures étudient majoritairement le métier d'acheteur sous l'angle du requis. Une approche complémentaire, en interrogeant les acheteurs de production sur les activités qu'ils réalisent au quotidien, est nécessaire pour mieux identifier, cerner les contours de ce métier. Une typologie réalisée grâce aux réponses de 170 acheteurs sur le temps qu'ils déclarent passer sur chaque activité et compétence de leur métier fait émerger quatre profils d'acheteurs de production : les acheteurs familles, les sécurisateurs achats, les coordinateurs achats et les approvisionneurs. Cette typologie constitue, pour les responsables achats et les responsables des ressources humaines, une aide pour le profilage, l'évaluation et la formation des acheteurs de production.

Officially labelled in France during the summer of 2005, the poles of competitiveness bring together, in more than 30 geographical territories of the French national territory, corporations, universities, research institutes and local collectivities around a local innovation dynamic at both the national and international levels. Presented as a new form of industrial organisation, are these poles already producing new types of practices to facilitate working together? Will they necessitate or contribute to the development of new human resources management techniques while, at the same time, constituting social innovation laboratories? First, an overview of the current situation will compare the poles of competitiveness to the clusters, already well analysed in the literature, in order to induce potential human resource management (HRM) issues. A review of an inter-corporation cooperation experience, which served as a reference in the emergence of the poles of competitiveness, will then reveal the tensions existent in the existing HRM practices, and pleads for the development of new practices. An exploratory study of the actors of a pole of competitiveness currently under construction will show the differing perceptions of the HR issues, and also the need for social innovations.

National audience

Several studies focused on buyers' activities and skills. However, it would be also interesting to conduct a job analysis by studying skills and activities “used” by buyers in their job. In this exploratory research, we follow a qualitative approach to determine the activities and skills declared by buyers themselves. The results of seventeen buyers' interviews are analysed. From an academic and practical point of view, we offer a better understanding of buyers' job through taxonomies, which can be useful for selection and appraisal.