The problem with trust when it comes to suppliers is that they probably supply many different companies, perhaps even your competitors – so how do you trust them?

But have you stopped to think the reverse is also true: how can suppliers trust their buyers?

This is a situation as old as the buyer-supplier relationship itself, especially in transactional relationships, and where one party might have leverage over another.

. Is it long-term? Strategic? New? Evolving?  If you are buying pens from Amazon then clearly you do not need to spend time building supplier trust. But if you have a highly strategic Vested outsourcing deal then it is essential.

Your best bet for determining which sourcing business model is best for your situation is to use the University of Tennessee’s open source Sourcing Business Model mapping toolkit (courtesy of the authors of Strategic Sourcing in the New Economy: Harnessing the Potential of Sourcing Business Models for Modern Procurement).

Of course you can also start with this wonderful tip courtesy of Clive Heal, who leads the Roche Procurement, Innovation Center of Excellence (ICE): “” For example, let’s say you outsource facilities management services. Would you treat the site lead for the supplier differently if she was an employee?  If not, why not?

Image: Trust by Ron Mader via Flickr CC