ABSTRACT
The relationship between a library or information unit and a supplier can cover a whole range of associations from a single order that goes disastrously wrong to a long and mutually rewarding association in which the library is provided with material reliably and on time, and the supplier receives a just financial payback. It is the librarian’s role to ensure that the organization being served achieves the best possible outcome from the association, although the problem is, of course, that the ‘best’ is defined by a cumulation of requirements that each supplier must meet in order to have a satisfied client. An unsatisfied client not only produces irritations and eventually a loss of business, but the poor reputation of the supplier may spread to other potential clients.
