Information Exchange processes and supply chain relationships: an investigation in the Emilian Motor District

An open question-based survey has been conducted among 56 of the most relevant suppliers of three companies belonging to the Emilian Motor District. The themes of relationships with the customer, internal organization, specific competences and equipments, and purchasing practices were treated. Particularly, the linkages in the three areas of product development, logistics and quality were considered. From the preliminary analysis, two main results seem to emerge: a clear prevalence of the technical skills and equipments over the managerial ones – which suggests wide spaces exist for improvements in this field, expecially for what concerns the development of a more synchronized and flexible chain – and a lack of homogeneity in the degree of integration between the different levels of the network