Managing and developing key supplier relationships: An introduction to the special issue, discussion and implications

This article provides an introduction to this special issue on managing and developing key supplier relationships. Key suppliers are increasingly seen as strategic assets of buying companies which need careful nurturing to fully utilize their potential for value creation. The six articles of this special issue, each providing a distinct contribution to the extant knowledge base on key supplier management, are briefly introduced. Finally, this introduction concludes by providing our vision on the key supply management concept and some suggestions for future research directions.