ABSTRACT
Knowing that specifications have to be tailored to suit the capabilities and capacities of the suppliers is not enough. We have observed in many companies that in spite of having different tailored specifications for the suppliers, the wrong specification is often given to the suppliers. In other words, there is no clear vision for suppliers and organisations should develop this internally. A supplier vision of R&D contribution cannot be used for a nut and bolt supplier and detailed control parts with a small financial margin cannot be developed with the aim of proposing innovative solutions or contributing to the productivity of the customers in the development process. It is important to make expectations clear between the OEMs and the suppliers in outsourced product development. Developing visions for suppliers can play a role in helping OEMs realise this and thus use the core capabilities of the buyer-supplier firms accordingly. This chapter attempts to explore the impact of visions for suppliers in outsourced product development, the creation of visions for suppliers and finally, the interplay between visions for suppliers and the core capabilities of OEMs.
