Arm’s Length Relationship

A label sometimes given to normal commercial relationships between buyer and supplier who either are independent or act independently. The term implies that there is limited goal congruence, there are few mechanisms to promote joint working or collaboration and that interactions are primarily focused on the exchange of purchase orders and invoices, rather than the exchange of designs, future plans or strategies which would be more consistent with a cooperative relationship. See also Supplier Relationship Management.

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Discover the world’s largest Glossary of Procurement terms

With over 800 Procurement specific terms (and growing) you will find everything you need to know or thought you knew about the Procurement function. Our aim is to provide you with a comprehensive list collated from the Comprara Groups hub of training and consulting source materials.The Procurement Glossary has been compiled by industry expert Paul Rogers.