Managing Buyer-Supplier Relationships in Event Projects

Very little research has been carried on buyer-supplier relationships in project management. Most of the studies in this domain concern the construction industry. The aim of this dissertation is to explain how to manage relationships with Suppliers in event management. Firstly, relevant practices from the literature are described; then the actual business practices are explained. Lastly, recommendations about which concepts should be applied are given. The data have been collected from interviews with event managers. This dissertation does not aim to give an extensive overview of current practices, but to provide a first insight on which further research can be built. The findings are that current businesses, according to the literature, use Supply Chain concepts in managing their relationships with suppliers. They develop long term and cooperative relationships with their suppliers. To do so, some organizations have a formal contract. Interpersonal relationships and trust cement the relationships. Moreover, they avoid conflicts which have bad effects on them. Lastly, they have developed cooperation and even integration with their suppliers. The value of this study is to recommend solutions to event managers about relevant Supply Chain concepts to apply, in order to improve their relationships with suppliers. It is recommended to use the total cost of ownerships methods to choose a supplier, and suppliers development techniques to improve their performance