Supplier relations and flexibility in the Spanish automotive industry

Analyses buyer‐supplier relationships in the Spanish automotive industry. Nearly half of the companies interviewed co‐operate with customers, suppliers, and technological centres to improve their production processes, but only two companies co‐operate with their customers in component development and design. The use of just‐in‐time delivery depends on the percentage of trained employees, the use of common components and the adoption of flexible automation. A classification of the cases studied is made along a number of buyer‐supplier partnership dimensions.