Companies are being forced to re-examine their relationship with suppliers, writes Barry McCall

The incipient global economic recession isn't bad news for everyone.

Purchasing managers are finding that their bargaining power has been enhanced considerably by the market downturn. Suppliers are finding their order books are looking a lot less healthy than they were even a few months ago and not seeking to drive such hard bargains with customers as a result.

However tempting it may be, paring prices down to the bone may not be in the best interest of the buyer in the long term though.

"If you screw a supplier into the ground they are going to screw you at the next opportunity," says Wolfgang Steck, vice-president of procurement solutions with global management consulting firm AT Kearney.

Steck was in Dublin last week to address a strategic procurement conference organised by supplier management solutions company Supplierforce. The conference dealt with managing costs in turbulent times and revealed some alarming facts.

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