News & Research: Client Successes

Case Study: NSSS Supplier Relationship Management

ScottMadden assisted a major overseas electric company to research the history and nature of relationships between U.S. nuclear generation stations and their major Nuclear Steam Support System (NSSS) suppliers.

• Company senior management wanted to understand the relationships U.S. utilities have with their key nuclear suppliers particularly GE and Westinghouse. Management believed their relationships with these suppliers were comparatively poor and primarily focused on continued pressure to reduce costs
• The utility was interested in the evolution of U.S. supplier relationship management over the past 20 years and whether there were lessons learned that might be applicable to their situation

• Interviewed managers and purchasing agents at several U.S. nuclear generation facilities
• Conducted an extensive literature search about the history and evolvement of services offered to nuclear generation stations by key U.S. NSSS suppliers
• Discussed current relationships and methods of working together in depth
• Documented results in a research report delivered to the client at the conclusion of the engagement

• The report indicated that U.S. utility/supplier relationship management had evolved through several key phases, depending on whether the utility or the supplier had negotiating leverage
• Several key lessons learned were used by the client to restructure their ongoing supplier relations