Today I am taking a closer look at how buyer-supplier relationships evolve over time. This is the buyer-supplier relationship life cycle, where supply chains are dynamic and  where supply chain partners are constantly changing: New suppliers are added, others are  contractually terminated, cease to exist or become obsolete. Needless to say, nurturing and honing these relationships also improves supply chain performance. However, as Stephan Wagner points out in his recently published article on Supplier development and the relationship life-cycle, supplier development and supplier performance are dependent on the current stage or phase in the relationship life cycle.

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