THE ROLE OF PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS TOOLS IN BUILDING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SUPPLIERS AND INDUSTRIAL CLIENTS

The purpose of this research paper is to present the role of process improvements tools in building relationships between clients and suppliers on the industrial goods market. Their identification was based on an analysis of the literature, as well as on the results of empirical research conducted by the CATI technique and covered 300 producers that were suppliers for enterprises from the chemical, metal and automotive industry sectors operating in Poland. The results of the conducted research indicate that the main supplier requirements relating to technical quality of products, shortening cycles of process implementation and willingness of the supplier to reduce costs. One could also observe that for many industrial clients, their relationships with suppliers are not just confined to fulfilling rigorous requirements. Increasingly, they recognize that building their competitive advantage also requires building partnerships with suppliers that are manifested in joint projects in the field of effective application of the requirements of tool (like quality, environmental and safety management systems, Toyota Production System or Lean Management concept), which have an impact on the improvement of the products and processes in the supply chain.