The management of business relationships between companies has gained importance in recent years due to the focus on core competencies and the resulting reduction in the depth of their own performance in practice and theory. The efficient management and control of such a business relationship is crucial for its success, with the contractual regulation of collaboration being one of its central aspects. Björn Eckhard examines which knowledge management tools a company can use to build competencies in the area of contract design. The theoretical basis includes transaction cost theory, the organizational learning approach, and the knowledge-based approach. A cross-industry research model is analyzed against the specific backdrop of manufacturer-supplier relationships in the automotive industry, considering 20 cooperation relationships.