The reason procurement and sales are not in synergy is simple: lack of accountability and lack of targets on the buyer side.
Sales teams have clear goals. They are measured, pushed, and expected to deliver.
Buyers are not.
Many buyers work from home, get comfortable, distracted, and disconnected from the market. Sellers cannot reach them, cannot present solutions, and cannot compete.
The entire chain loses.
Trade shows should have dedicated access for buyers, not just sellers. Buyers should actively approach the market, not sit back and wait.
Today, many buyers are too comfortable. There is little urgency to bring new ideas, new suppliers, or cost reduction.
In many cases, only when the owner gets involved does anything move. Buyers alone often do not take action.
I met a buyer at an automation company who openly said, "I do not care, I am just waiting to retire."
That says everything.
We need a more dynamic cycle.
In Brazil and Germany, buyers are accessible. They answer calls, they engage, they listen.
In the USA, try calling a purchasing department without a contact. You will be ignored.
Purchasing departments are not reachable, and when they are, it is only through voicemail.
I tested this. I left messages offering something very concrete: free tooling to supply samples for some MIM parts worth about $20k each. This was not a vague pitch, it was a real opportunity.
I did this with about five companies where I had no prior contact, purely to measure response behavior.
Result: zero return.
That means one of two things. They do not even listen to the messages, or they stop at the introduction and ignore the rest.
The argument that this could be dismissed as a scam does not hold. The message clearly states we are a registered ITAR company, with a website and full traceability.
So what is left?
Either buyers are lazy, or there are compensation structures from existing suppliers that discourage change. If the latter exists, it crosses into unethical territory and should be investigated.
Either way, it is a serious problem.
Yes, they respond when something is already in scope, but rarely are they open to learning about new suppliers or new solutions.
This must change.
Because this behavior creates a domino effect that impacts the entire sales chain.
#ElonMusk #Procurement #Sales #SupplyChain #Manufacturing #B2B #Leadership #Innovation #TradeShows #Industrial #USA #Germany