Beyond the Spreadsheet

That’s not to say a spreadsheet won’t come in handy, but it’s no substitute for digging deeply to figure out what you need from your suppliers and what they can do for you.

First and most importantly, define the critical factors that will make your company successful. Hint: If your answer is price, quality and service, you aren’t digging deep enough. Instead, ask this: “For product X to succeed, what does it need to do extremely well?” Your supplier criteria should unreservedly mirror these things. Most of that criteria will probably be versions of price, quality and service, along with an “other” category in some cases. But take the time to distill them to specifics.