2. Rule No. 1: Anticipation

When identifying a potential supplier, and in order to start up a relationship with a new supplier with peace of mind, the first contact must not be made in a state of panic and urgency. Buyers must be able to anticipate their company's needs. To achieve this, they need to be part of the continuous improvement process, which will enable them to engage in anticipatory supplier "prospecting".

In this context, he can make an initial selection based on 4 or 5 general criteria (company size, sales, certification, experience, technical skills). The choice of these criteria will help guide future customer-supplier relations. In fact, apart from the "technical" criteria directly linked to the product, he can sort according to the type of response provided, the information requested, and the supplier's involvement in general.

The aim is to quickly...