1. Customer and Supplier
Interaction – The Industrial
Marketing and Purchasing
IMP Model
Mr. Gan Chun Chet
MSc (UMIST) (UK), BSc (Hon) (UK)

2. The IMP Model
 The Industrial Marketing and Purchasing IMP
Interaction Model
 By the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing
Group, Published in 1982
 Model developed after analysing 1300
relationships in Europe

3. The IMP Model
 Assumed long term relationship
 The IMP Model consists of:
1) Interaction Process
2) Interaction Parties
3) Interaction Environment
4) Atmosphere

4. The IMP Model
Organisation
Technology
Structure
Strategy
Individual
Aims
Experience
Organisation
Individual
Atmosphere
Power/dependency
Cooperation
Closeness
Expectations
Product/Service
Information
Financial
Social
Institutionalisation
Adaptation
Environment
Market Structure
Dynamism
Internationalisation
Position in the manufacturing
channel
Social System

5. The IMP Model
 Interaction Process – The interaction between
two parties, the episodes and events of
exchange that contribute towards
institutionalization or destabilization of the
relationship
 Product or Service Exchange – What suppliers
sells to customers and what customer trade the
item(s) with
 Information Exchange – Transfer of information,
technical, commercial, soft data, etc

6. The IMP Model
 Financial Exchange – Currency exchange and
uncertainty involved over time
 Social Exchange – Communication, experience,
culture, etc.

7. The IMP Model
 Interaction Parties – The characteristic of the
parties, the participants
 Technology – Capability of manufacturing plant
 Organization Size, Structure and Strategy – Size
often relate to power. Strategy relates to
emphasis and priorities of an organization
 Organization Experience – The number of
exchanges
 Individuals – The person involved during the
interaction, salesperson

8. The IMP Model
 Interaction Environment – Environmental issues
 Market structure
 Dynamism
 Internationalization – Some uncertainty that will
arise are the difference in language, culture,
political content, etc
 Position in the manufacturing channel – The
position of the organization in the supply chain
 Social System – Concerns are attitude, trade
regulation, exchange rate

9. The IMP Model
 The Atmosphere – the variable that emerges
over time between the interaction parties
 Power-Dependency
 Co-operation-Conflict
 Trust-Opportunism
 Understanding-Mutual Expectation

10. Reference
 Hakansson, H., “An Interaction Approach”,
International Marketing and Purchasing of
Industrial Goods, John Wiley, New York, 1982,
pp. 10-27.