Three suppliers quoted. The spec was written by one of them.

A competitive tender only discovers a price if the requirement is neutral. Often it isn't, and the paperwork is the last place that shows up.

By Steve 5 min read
Abstract bridge artwork for Three suppliers quoted. The spec was written by one of them.

A renewal comes round. The buyer does the right thing: three quotes, a scoring matrix, a signed recommendation. The incumbent wins by a comfortable margin, the file looks immaculate, and the price is roughly where it would have landed anyway. Everyone involved behaves properly and the exercise discovers nothing. The usual explanation is that the incumbent is simply better. Sometimes true. But there is a more common mechanism, and it is visible in the document that started the process. If the specification was drafted with the incumbent’s help, using their…

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