Clearer vision
13 September 2012
How much should purchasing people know about their suppliers’ operations and vice versa? Richard Lamming, Deborah Harrison and Nigel Caldwell argue that “open-book” negotiation has failed, and that a new type of relationship – two-way transparency – is es
Open-book negotiation has been popular with purchasing and supply managers for many years. Suppliers are expected to reveal sensitive operating data to their customers as a matter of course, with little in return but the promise of keeping the business. It now seems, however, that the practice may lead to cost increases because it ignores a basic fact of business: a...