Selling the way your customers want to buy

Abstract

In Chapter 1, we put forward this book’s fundamental proposition: The power of two firms (a customer and supplier pair) working in close collaboration is the best way to win today’s tough competitive game. Chapter 2 expanded on the idea of collaboration, identifying four distinct stages, the efforts required to reach each of these stages, and the potential benefits to both customer and supplier of doing so. In Chapter 3, we examined the changes required in the ways a company buys. How does the customer need to adapt its procurement practices to work collaboratively with a small number of carefully selected suppliers?