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The supply side is on top of the management agenda in most companies, reflecting an increasing strategic attention to benefits that can be gained from cooperation with suppliers. In particular, partnering has been suggested to be the superior solution for making the most of supplier relationships. It is argued in this paper that this recommendation oversimplifies the issues involved and, if followed blindly, may be bad for practice. Developing partnerships with suppliers is resource-intensive and can be justified only when the costs of extended involvement are exceeded by relationship benefits. The article examines the economic consequences following from different degrees of involvement with suppliers. Our conclusion is that a company can be highly involved with only a limited number of suppliers and needs a variety of relationships—each providing its different benefits. Furthermore, it is discussed how the extent …