I was in a CEO roundtable recently when something came up that perfectly validated what we’ve been telling buyers in our training for the past year: suppliers are overwhelmed with RFQs—and they’re ignoring a lot of them. Not because they’re lazy or arrogant, but because…
I’ve spent a lot of time over the years negotiating—face-to-face across tables, over the phone, and, more recently, on video calls. But lately, something’s been catching my eye. In video negotiations, I’ve seen buyers checking emails mid-call, sellers pitching from poorly lit basements, and—my personal…
Tariffs. Inflation. Supplier price pressure. In times like these, it’s easy to feel boxed in. But not all buyers are stuck. In fact, some are thriving. We recently wrapped up another round of the Cost Management Certification (CMC) program, where buyers from various industries tackled real-world cost…
Here’s how the best teams avoid inflated supplier pricing — and how yours can too. Tariffs may be out of your control — but your response to them isn’t. Over the past two decades, working with hundreds of procurement teams, one pattern has become clear: Companies that…
At Advanced Purchasing Dynamics (APD), we’ve spent decades helping companies elevate their purchasing performance. Along the way, one thing became clear: purchasing leaders weren’t just looking for better tools—they were looking for a better way to work. That realization led APD’s founder, Jeoff Burris, to…
I. Preparation is Power: Reassessing Leverage in a Tariff-Impacted World Start with this premise: The most successful negotiations begin long before the first conversation. At APD, we train buyers to evaluate power dynamics between buyer and supplier before any negotiation begins. Tariffs dramatically shift those…
For decades, negotiation experts have debated the best strategies for securing favorable deals—should one take a competitive, hardline stance or adopt a collaborative, problem-solving approach? My favorite competitive and collaborative negotiation books are: Chester L. Karrass’s The Negotiating Game (1970), which outlines competitive negotiation tactics—leveraging…
Purchasing leaders in manufacturing are currently grappling with an unpredictable tariff landscape, making it nearly impossible to “read the tea leaves” and predict what will actually transpire. The Shifting Nature of U.S. Trade Policy The difficulty lies in the ever-changing nature of U.S. trade policy,…
The tariffs on steel and aluminum implemented during President Trump’s first term in 2018 differ in several key aspects from those announced in 2025 during his second term. Below is a comparative overview: Aspect 2018 Tariffs 2025 Tariffs Impact on Purchasers Tariff Rates – Steel: 25% – Aluminum: 10% – Steel: 25% –…
We at Advanced Purchasing Dynamics have been posting a lot about tariffs and thought it might be time to step back and provide some education on the topic, along with the current status and direction of U.S. trade policies. Tariffs have long been a pivotal…