A Customer’s Possibilities to Increase the Performance of a Service Provider by Adding Value and Deepening the Partnership in Facility Management Service

Abstract

Reliable and good suppliers are an important competitive advantage for a customer and that is why the development of suppliers, improvement of performance and enhancement of customership are also in the interest of the customer. The purpose of this study is to clarify a customer's possibilities to increase the performance of a service provider and to develop the service process in FM services and thus help to improve partnership development. This research is a qualitative research. The research complements the existing generic model of supplier development towards partnership development by customer and clarifies the special features that facility management services bring to this model. The data has been gathered from interviews of customers and service providers in the facility management service sector. The result is a model of customers' possibilities to develop the performance of service providers from the viewpoint of value addition and relationship development and in that way ensure added value to the customer and the development of a long-term relationship. The results can be beneficial to customers when they develop the cooperation between the customer and the service provider toward being more strategic and more partnership focused.

Strategic supplier management: from contractual models to engagement partnerships

“…According to the literature, the trend is that the satisfaction of suppliers is increasingly something to be considered by big firms. This trend is justified by what was said by some authors (Sillanpää et al, 2016;Lee et al, 2009) with a more global knowledge of what companies around the world have been applying.…”

“…According to the Sillanpää et al (2016) study, the service must be estimated according to the perspective of the service provider and customer, and there must be continuous development in their relationship. To achieve these key elements, the customer company should create competitive pressure, make a comparison between what the service provider can offer and what the customer needs, develop operations in conjunction with the service provider and create incentives for the service provider (Sillanpää et al, 2016). Besides, Sillanpää et al (2016) also said that it is necessary to monitor the relationship between companies and their service providers as well as develop tools to measure the progress in their relations.…”

“…One subject that has become increasingly important in recent times is the relationship among companies, particularly among a company and its suppliers (Sillanpää et al, 2016). Suppliers are the starting point of the supply chain, whether it is a firm that markets goods or one that provides services.…”

“…In recent years, companies have focused on supplier development, performance improvement, and customer enhancement. For Sillanpää et al (2016), this is because firms feel that, having quality suppliers and to whom they can trust, is a competitive advantage. Sometimes firms underestimate the effort required to support a relationship between them and their partners (Andersen and Gadde, 2018).…”