When selecting a supplier, it is helpful to decide what type of relationship you are seeking early in the process.  This allows you to ask questions that are helpful to you. 

It also allows you and the suppliers to eliminate each other from consideration.  Over the long-term, it takes a lot of effort to sustain exceptions from the normal approach.   

If cost is the primary concern, you may want to make tradeoffs to realize lower prices.  If reliability is the primary issue, it may be approriate to link compensation to reliability. 

What works for one person in a situation may be different from what would have value in a different set of circumstances. 

Filed by Coleen Davis at 6:21 pm under Achieving Goals, Business Acumen, Negotiations, Sourcing