Innovation During the Supplier Selection Process: A Novel Multi-Stage Process Case

Established ideas on supplier selection have not moved much from the original premise of how to choose between bidders. Whilst we have added many different tools and refinements to choose between alternative suppliers, its nature has not evolved. We move the original selection process approach forward by reporting a novel practice from the car industry where the first stage is to allow bidders to propose alternative technological solutions. After identifying the deserted technological solution, all the initial bidders are again invited to become the preferred supplier. In addition, the OEM we observed through an ethnographic embedded researcher study has refined the selection process and has two selection stages one for first supply covering tool/process developed and another later for resupply of mature parts. We report the details of the process, those involved, the criteria employed and identify benefits and weaknesses of this enhanced selection process.