隨著供應鏈管理相關議題逐漸受到重視，為了提高顧客滿意與利潤，自動化產業必須設法降低生產的前置時間與存貨，而選擇優秀的供應商往往成為自動化產業獲取競爭優勢的重要關鍵。台灣自動化產業中之工具機產業發展，已成為世界第六大生產國及第五大出口國，在世界舞台中佔有一席之地。台灣工具機廠商的成本結構中約有62%的製造成本乃是因為外包的供應商所產生的成本，而委外是台灣工具機產業普遍的現象。台灣工具機產業的供應商種類可分為：國外重要零組件廠商、國內重要零組件廠商及國內重要製程加工等三種。當外包的供應商所供應的產品品質無法提升時，工具機業者取得的零組件品質則受到影響，當然組合出來的產品品質便無法保證。因此，台灣工具機產業相當重視其供應商的選擇，也由於這些供應商的優劣將影響著台灣工具機產業的盛衰。因此，本研究針對工具機產業的三種上游供應商：國外重要零組件廠商、國內重要零組件廠商及國內重要製程加工廠商，以十五項重要選擇因素項目進行問卷調查，探討其選擇上游供應商之主要因素。研究結果發現，國外重要零組件廠商的選擇因素歸納為：價值能力、產品能力及作業能力；國內重要零組件廠商之選擇因素歸納為：信譽能力、技術能力及顧客能力；而國內重要製程加工廠商之選擇因素歸納為：作業能力、技術能力及顧客能力。本研究可供政府與產業研究單位、工具機產業廠商業者及相關學術研究參考。

Today as supply chain management related issues is holding the increasing limelight, automation industry must try to minimize the preliminary period and inventory and choose superior suppliers. These factors very often become the predominating key in competition. In terms of the machine tool development among the automation industry, Taiwan has ranked among the world’s Top Six, as the 5th giant exporter, playing a pivotal role in the world stage. Out of the manufacturing costs of Taiwan’s machine tool makers, 62% prove to be the costs for the contract-out suppliers. In Taiwan’s machine tool industry, contract-out production is a common phenomenon. Suppliers to Taiwan’s machine tool industry can be classified into three categories: Manufacturers of foreign key parts and components, manufacturers of key domestic parts and components and key domestic processors. While the contractors could not upgrade quality of their products, the quality of parts and components supplied to the machine tool manufacturers would be untowardly affected, making the quality of the assembled products questionable. In Taiwan, therefore, those machine tool manufacturers are keenly watchful of the choices of their suppliers which will even tell the fate of their future. The present study just aims at the suppliers of the three categories, i.e., Manufacturers of foreign key parts and components, manufacturers of key domestic parts and components and key domestic processors through questionnaire surveys in fifteen key items to probe into the key factors they choose upstream suppliers. The findings indicate that manufacturers of foreign key parts and components focus on competence in values, product competence and operation competence; manufacturers of key domestic parts and components focus on competence in goodwill, technological competence and customer-oriented competence while key domestic processors focus on operation competence, technological competence and customer-oriented competence. The findings yielded out of the present study will function as handy reference to the government, business concerns’ research units, machine tool manufacturers as well as academic research institutions.