A procurement expert argues you should always ask about cost, even with trusted suppliers. Many people stop price-checking when they assume partnership means collaboration excuses scrutiny. Demanding the best price and building trust aren't opposites.
it comes to company's money, they suddenly think, oh, we are collaborating, we don't want to ask cost. That's nonsense. So that, that's whether you're talking to strategic supplier, convenient supplier, or collaborating, non-collaborating, that, that's the first step you have to do. You need to know your cost very clearly. But that doesn't prevent any one of us to stop asking about cost. We should always ask about cost. And we do that in everyday life. I don't know why people, when they come into the office of, you know, purchasing, they just forget. what they have just done outside. Just the previous evening, they would have gone to 2 or 3, you know, vegetable vendors checking at the prices and finding whose price is correct. They do that when it's their own pocket, but when it comes to company's money, they suddenly think, oh, we are collaborating, we don't want to ask cost. That's nonsense. You need to do the same thing. Cost is vital, whether it's, you know, from your own pocket or from your company's pocket. You need to always look at the best cost scenarios. No matter what, no matter what, whether you collaborate, you hate, you love, it doesn't care. Look at the cost. I think that's the message we all are giving out to the audience in this roundtable today. Collaboration, transparency, trusting, that doesn't prevent us from getting us the best cost for our company.
