Purchasing, or procurement, is one of the least efficient functions in our businesses. It is also the environment where much corruption occurs (we talk about this nearly every August in "Pulp Rats" month). Procurement involves the exchange of goods and services for money. Everyone gets funny around money. I am convinced that so-called "arm's length" negotiations often waste money and result in the acquisition of something other than what the procuring party wanted. I am equally convinced that negotiated pricing, an implication that the effort is more open, wastes money, too. Then there is corruption, where sellers buy the business...
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