There is a cynical (and hopefully not true) rumour about the death of a German IT enterprise. When it was buried, there were a number of funeral eulogies. In one of them, the dedication of the company to its customers was appreciated. All was quiet.
Then the fairness towards suppliers was mentioned, and there was allegedly a significant level of disquietness around the grave.
It is quite acceptable to keep the interest of one’s customers at heart. This is as it should be. Yet you must not forget your suppliers, either. Without them, it is not possible to deliver the optimum of quality.
Now let me pretend I am the supplier. What is it that annoys me as a supplier?
- If impossible payment targets are decided one-sidedly.
- If a price that cannot be met is pressed on me, according to the motto: either you accept the new price – or else we are no longer business partners! Firstly, there is no advantage in this for the customer. In the long run, this kind of pressure on the price is detrimental. Secondly, this is called blackmail.
- If the impossible is expected.
- If a contract puts all the rights on the side of the customer and all the duties on the side of the supplier.
- If these contracts are not subject to negotiations.
- If there is no scope for decisions left.
These are not the only things I witness relatively often these days. This is something I will not and cannot do to my suppliers.
Let me mention another extremely absurd sales tool that causes immeasurable cost and damage: inverse internet auctions. The system is like ebay, only the other way around. Licensed suppliers must bet anonymously yet publicly.
You start at a reasonable price, and towards the end of the auction you have to lower costs in order to, for example, get a frame contract. It goes without saying that prices plummet towards the end of the individual auctions in an unacceptable, often ruinous manner.
The supplier who asked the lowest price at the moment the hammer struck wins the category. Actually getting the contracts is still another story.
Instead of a reasonable negotiation culture, we have a poker game. These kinds of games are detrimental, both for the customer and the supplier.
This is definitely something an “ethical enterprise” must not do.
In short:
It is also a necessary requirement for an “ethical enterprise” to cultivate an intact and reasonable treatment of suppliers.
RMD
(Translated by EG)
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