… simply put, you didn’t do a very good job. While the supplier should be walking away from the table with a hint of a smile on their face, as you want a positive relationship, if they’re whistling a jaunty tune and dancing to it, you got suckered. And these days, it’s happening all too often.

As per this recent post on the SCM blogs by James Baehr of Greybeard Advisors on how last minute bids and contract extensions can limit leverage, contracts are being benignly neglected. Procurement professionals are too busy issuing quick bids and placing orders based solely on price. As a result, the decision criteria is generally limited to price and Procurement finds itself with little, if any, room to negotiate for a better whatever. Furthermore, many buyers have taken to simply extending existing contracts, sometimes two or three times. This leaves money on the table and compromises leverage since the organization generally becomes more dependent on the supplier from whom they are no longer getting the best price. It’s not long before Procurement is stepping over dollar bills to pick-up pennies and the supper is walking away from the table with a jaunt in his step, whistling a happy tune …