PROCUREMENT STRATEGY
“ But technology only takes you so far . People only share with people they trust . And trust is built up between partners over a series of confidence-building measures . If my customers always pay me late or put me on a 90-day payment term when they know I am a self-financed start-up , then how likely am I to want to share my crown jewels . Likewise , if my suppliers don ’ t respect my IP and share my plans with potential competitors , how likely is it that I will want them co-designing the next version of my product . Relationships often deteriorate not due to sneaky or malicious acts , but just through miscommunication : in B2B , you have hundreds of suppliers , and they have hundreds of customers , and the optimal way to measure this sentiment is with a tool like Qualtrics , which checks the pulse of suppliers in an unobtrusive way , to find out problems that might damage the relationship so you can sort them out before they blow up .”
I ’ m sure you ’ ve heard the old chestnut : Two hikers are walking through the forest when a great big bear suddenly appears on the path about 10 metres in front of them . The bear sees them and starts to head towards them . The first one drops his rucksack , pulls out a pair of trainers , and frantically begins to put them on . The second one says , “ What are you doing ? Trainers won ’ t help you outrun that
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