Sustainable Solutions for SCM

activities [24]. We must also highlight the key role of the process of creating knowledge within cooperation. This knowledge is used for managing critical activities that require complex competencies and high added value [5], [1]. When building cooperation management, it is necessary to take into account also the specifics of the particular region [45]. The key motivation for starting to cooperate is the existing market potential within a particular regional economy, as opposed to the assistance via the tools of economic policy [16]. Every instance of cooperation is unique because of the differences between industrial sectors and industries, number and size of cooperating companies, level of cooperation and hierarchical networks between these organisations [27]. When using cooperation management, it is needed to include also the process of control. Performance of the cooperation will depend on the degree to which mutual goals are satisfied, based on the criteria or company indications that are set in advance [29]. For building the cooperation management, organisational factors are very important. These involve changes in the organisational structure to support cooperation, interest and support of top management of the partner companies, openness to changes while maintaining mutual goals of the partners [14], [44], [39]. Assuming that the abovementioned identified factors are taken care of within a company, then its cooperation management will bring expected results, such as better product quality, shorter delivery times and higher customer satisfaction [47]. 4.2 Case study of cooperation management – New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. 4.2.1 Introduction to the topic Cooperation is a basic feature of human society. It is often clearly visible in a cooperative sphere. If it is intensive, based on positive experience and partnership, it provides an opportunity to gain a competitive advantage for all parties concerned. We can see this e.g. in the cooperation within supplier-customer relations. However, we know also relatively frequent cases when even direct competitors get to such mutually advantageous partnership cooperation. Clusters or a cluster principle is often spoken about here. Here we can observe cooperation of direct competitors together with science, research and universities in order to achieve common objectives, often competitiveness on foreign and global markets is concerned. The entities involved remain competitors locally or in smaller tasks. However, efficient cooperation of competitive entities does not have to take place only within a cluster. Bilateral cooperation etc., for example, may be similarly efficient as well. This is the case of efficient cooperation of two competitive entities discussed in the following papers, namely Toyota and General Motors. They represent direct rivals on global markets. However, the cooperation they built in the past meant a competitive advantage with strategic importance for both companies over the long term. The case study is based on following references: [10], [13], [20], [28], [25], [32], [41], [42], [46], [56].

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