I hope that you have enjoyed the article “How Expensive Suppliers Negotiate, Part I.”

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As mentioned in the article, suppliers often play the “But we’re better than the competition. Of course they’d be cheaper. But you get what you pay for” card.

Sometimes they are wrong.

Sometimes they are worth listening to – especially if this is your first time sourcing a particular product or service. And we all know that sourcing is becoming more of a jump-from-one-category-to-another type of discipline.

So, the obvious recommendation from this article is “listen to your supplier – you just may learn something valuable.”

The unstated rule related to this topic is this: if your supplier is your primary source of education about a category you’re buying, you’re in trouble.

Never stop listening. And never stop learning – from as many sources as you can!