SUPPLIER COLLABORATION FOR NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT IN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

Manufacturer-Supplier relationship started out as a market-exchange type of relationship over the years. Increased interaction with each other gradually moved to become partnering type of relationship. These partnerships are symbiotic relationship in which manufacturers benefit from supplier's knowledge of local production and supplier benefit from manufacturer's technical and managerial support. Ford (1980) classified the evolution of particular manufacturer-supplier relationships into five stages- pre-relationship, early stage, development, long term and final stage. Indian automobile industry experiences and practices of both Japanese and American firms are relevant. By adopting practices of both Japanese and American firms, consistent with Indian market conditions for product innovation and customer requirement, Indian firms could scale up their competitive index in quality, cost and delivery parameters.