SME supplier management: An exercise in change management

The problems facing a manufacturing SME in the current UK economic climate are many and varied. This paper describes the experience of a Knowledge Transfer Project (KTP) Associate and her academic supervisor working for a customer-centric company in a dynamic manufacturing environment. With issues ranging from quality of the product itself, supplier relationships, a 'no questions asked' returns policy and a sometimes indifferent manufacturing workforce the paper sets out the problems encountered, the solutions offered and then implemented. Beyond the quick win solutions the real value of the project was a change in attitude which has allowed awkward questions to be asked, considered and not swept back under the carpet. Early indications are that the KTP project has been of major benefit to the company on a number of fronts. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010.