Value Co-Creation in Industrial Buyer-Seller Partnerships ... - Doria

Seller. At present there are three people who actively interact in the partnership thatpreviously worked for the Seller. These are Mr BR1, Mr BR4, and Mr BR12.Mr BR1 was initially leased to the Buyer in order to facilitate communication andcoordinate matters between the companies in 1998. He was later, in 1999 recruited by theBuyer. He has been a positive force in developing the partnership and is still today a keyperson in the interaction between the companies regarding technical matters. He knows bothorganizations’ ways of working, he knows people, and he is technically highly skilled.Mr BR4 was recruited from the Seller in conjunction with setting up the riding crew at theBuyer. He still today manages the operation of the riding crew and communicates with theSeller on matters related to training, new up-dates, supervision of work, and so on.Mr BR12 works out of the Buyer London office and is responsible for managing newbuilding projects and the new building program. He has a long work history in the Sellerorganization. During his years at the Seller he worked within the service business area andwas manager of the service business at one of the Seller’ s production sites, and member ofthe board of management. His area of responsibility was service for the XX-type engine,which is the engine that the Buyer has in its fleet. He had the chance to follow the first yearsof the XX-type engine. He got in contact with Mr BR9 already at these times and evenmore in the mid 1990’ s when the Seller sold engines to the Buyer NN Class vessels thatwere built in France. He prepared the deal together with Mr SR1&2.In 1998 he moved over to work for the Buyer. This move was a natural step in hiscareer and did not involve any drama, according to him. He feels that the fact that peoplehave been working within the Seller ameliorates communication between the firms.” Yes, it does impact, I mean this is interaction between people, and it is obvious that ifpeople have background knowledge… you are able to speak the same language mucheasier when you know the firm that you are dealing with, sort of from the inside.”(Interview: Buyer 12)It is no coincidence that there are several people from the Seller working within the Buyer.It has been a conscious choice on the Buyer’ s side to strengthen their in-house engine skillsand knowledge by recruiting people with the right profile. Mr BR9’ s history in the industryand his background from working with the Seller during his times at a Scandinavianshipping company have enabled him to see what resources are needed and to see what theBuyer needs in order to optimize their situation – not being too dependent on an outsidepartner but having some of the know-how in house.” Yes. Surely BR9 is a key person in everything that he touches because it is his style totake things into a certain direction. I could say when looking at the colleagues whohave switched from the Seller to the Buyer that we all bring in engine skills and know-131