Managing User‐supplier Interactions: Management of R&D Activity

AMT implementation has brought with it many opportunities for those businesses which subscribed to it. It also introduced a large number of problems, many of which were internal to the user organizations themselves, such as lack of senior management commitment, poor planning and lack of employee involvement amongst others. There were also problems external to the users concerned, such as poor supplier relationships. Argues that user‐supplier interactions are at the heart of effective and successful AMT implementation. The vehicle through which such relationships can be established is R&D activity. The more visible the R&D role is, the more encouragement suppliers give in involving their customers, the more positive the diffusion of AMT and its subsequent adoption can be. Concludes by proposing a model of AMT diffusion, based on a prominent role for R&D activity.