Undoubtedly, all of you will know the famous American statistician William Edwards Deming, a strong advocate of the need to transform American industry in the last third of the 20th century and who, at the same time, would develop a prosperous and relevant professional career during the reconstruction of post-WWII Japan.
In all likelihood, most of you will be familiar with Deming’s “14 Principles of Total Quality,” the fourth principle of which states that:
Don’t award business based on price; minimize total cost by having single suppliers on long-term relationships of loyalty and trust
In other words, something like: “end the practice of doing business based on price; instead, minimize total cost through a few suppliers based on long-term relationships built on loyalty and trust.”
Naturally, a principle is a fundamental idea that should govern a thought or behavior … which does not mean that it is possible to put it into practice at all times and under all circumstances!
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