Abstract

In this paper, the focus is on relationship management and its implications for Small-Medium Enterprise suppliers (SMEs). Specific insights are provided into retailer-supplier relationships in the UK fresh produce (fruit and vegetable) market. This sector faces a process of concentration in all parts of the supply chain determined by backward vertical integration at the initiation of powerful multiple retail buyers. The author examines the nature of relationships in a generic product group from the perspective of buyers and sellers and their interaction, utilizing material from multiple depth interviews. Results concern issues of relationship formality, exclusivity, power-dependency, relevance of organizational size, partnered growth potential and risk which lead to a number of provisional conclusions regarding the management of relationships in the supply chain