ABSTRACT
The aim of management of all the links in a supply chain is to increase competitiveness. This can be achieved, as individual organisational units are not individually responsible for competitiveness of their products and services in the eyes of the end customer, but the responsibility lies with the supply chain as a whole. Thus, competitiveness has become shifted from single companies towards supply chains. Naturally, in order to persuade a single company to become part of a supply chain it is presented with the prospect for a longterm win-win situation for all participants, which however does not have to apply to all entities in the short-term.
