When a company buys $40bn in materials and services from suppliers in one region of the world, it wants to make sure it gets the best possible value for its purchases.
That's why Hewlett-Packard, based in Palo Alto, Calif., conducted a study to determine which negotiation strategies and techniques are most effective when dealing with suppliers in China, Japan and South Korea.
The study concluded that the Mutual Gains Approach to negotiations, which stresses the idea of win-win for both parties, works well in Asia. It also found that knowing the background of the Asian negotiator and using a "middleman" to set the stage for negotiations are effective tools in cross-cultural negotiations.
"The use of middlemen, managing status of negotiators, understanding the underlying interests of the people involved in negotiations, looking for opportunities to avoid haggle and to build strategic partnerships work are viewed favorably in Asia," says Ben Webster, global negotiation program manager for HP.
Source: Purchasing, http://www.purchasing.com