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How the basic course and main course flow together into three routes
As a purchasing assistant you spend a large part of your time negotiating with suppliers — about price quantities delivery time and terms. A negotiation you go unprepared into almost always ends up more expensive than it needed to be.
Before you sit down at the table, you must know your own needs in detail: which quantity, which quality, which delivery time and which budget. Also explore the market — what do comparable goods cost from other suppliers and what is normal delivery time in the industry. The more you know in advance, the harder it is for the other party to surprise you.
A key part of any negotiation is knowing what you do if you do not agree — your best alternative to a deal. If you have a solid alternative, you negotiate from a position of strength because you are not forced to say yes at any price. If you have no alternative, you should consider whether you are ready to negotiate yet.
Listen at least as much as you speak and avoid revealing your bottom line too early. Ask the supplier why they price as they do — sometimes there is room to negotiate on more than just the price itself, for example payment terms, volume discount or delivery terms if the supplier cannot give more on the amount.
A verbal agreement is only as good as the two parties' memory. Always get the key points down in writing even if you've been dealing with the same supplier for years — it's precisely those agreements nobody wrote down that create disagreements when something goes wrong.