TÜRKİYE EV MOBİLYA SEKTÖRÜNDE FAALİYET GÖSTEREN MOBİLYA VE AKSESUAR ÜRETİCİSİ FİRMALARIN YENİ ÜRÜN GELİŞTİRME SÜREÇLERİNDEKİ İLİŞKİLERİNİN ARAŞTIRILMASI

This paper will investigate the relationship between furniture manufacturers and furniture accessory producers for new product development (NPD) in Turkish home furniture industry. A rich body of knowledge exists on supplier integration in NPD process in various industries such as automotive, textiles and consumer electronics whereas little is known on the subject in furniture industry. The importance of supplier integration in NPD processes especially in products consisting of multiple components is widely accepted. With the increase in the complexity of products and high requirement of efficiency and specialization, management of a network of suppliers to introduce meaningful products into the market has become crucial. This paper will represent partial findings of a study into the relationship between furniture manufacturers and furniture accessory producers in Turkish home furniture industry. The paper will depend on the data received through semi structured interviews with the representatives of both parties. The study aims to find out the channels of communication and collaboration between the companies designing whole sets of furniture and suppliers of components for these sets. The paper will discuss the findings of the semi structured interviews so far.   Keywords: Turkish furniture industry, new product development, component producers, supplier integration