Investigating the decision criteria used in electronic components procurement

Previous research has reported that the decision criteria used to evaluate suppliers differs by product category. Rather than investigating the key buying criteria across the entire gamut of products and services, this research takes a novel approach by investigating the evaluation criteria used in the procurement of component parts. The survey results suggest that the content and structure of the decision criteria used by business customers to assess their suppliers does not differ across an array of electronic components. The business implication is that business customers that formally track the performance of their suppliers along the critical evaluation criteria will be in a better position to gain a competitive advantage by effectively managing the inbound supply chain. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.