Editorial: Winners All Round Available to Purchase

Discusses the work of a research group set up to explore an aspect of Dr. Deming′s philosophy, that being to end the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag and instead, minimize total cost and move towards a single supplier for any one item, on a long‐term relationship of loyalty and trust. Considers customer/supplier relationships based on four major interrelated areas: management style; communication; alternative customer/supplier; measurement, with “win‐win” between the parties concerned being the ultimate aim and concludes that, because of the interdependence of the four areas, there is a driving force from the improvement process to work on all of them at the same time.