Today I am joined by Michael Shaw. Michael is well known through the Sourcing industry, particularly here in the US, he is currently chairperson of the American Council of Sourcing and Procurement Executives.

The heart of today's conversation revolves around a concept called 3SI – Supplier Specific Sourcing Intelligence. The premise is that a number of companies struggle to access the supplier market intelligence that they need to really enable them to build win-win relationships with key suppliers. We tend to focus on win-lose, or leverage when it comes to using market intelligence. Following the principles of 3SI provides the ability to craft deals with key partners – and Michael provides an example of a Microsoft licensing deal – that provide better results than a typical negotiation would achieve.