Is there any risk in sharing info about technologies and products we use with a supplier?2019 Community...

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Is there any risk in sharing info about technologies and products we use with a supplier?



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12















Sometimes I email with suppliers of different software products we use, may use in the future or have used in the past.
In these conversations I of course provide the info necessary so that the supplier can answer my question.
However there are also situations where i want to write:



"Hi, you mailed me to schedule a phone call but there is really no point. We are discontinuing your products because management has decided to go with technology X from competitor Y".



Of course they don't really need this detailed info, but it feels contrived to be secretive. Is there any harm with telling suppliers what tech we use and why?



Context: I am a developer and I don't have the last say in what we'll buy. EDIT: I do go to meetings and presentations to learn about products we (might) use. This way vendors get my contact details.



We are a services company, any (software) technology we use is there to support the services. So we do not compete directly with technology.










share|improve this question




















  • 2





    You're not being secretive by not telling them. You don't need to give them any reason and they're not entitled to know your reasons. "We've decided to discontinue using your product." is sufficient. If they ask why you can refer them to your management for an answer.

    – joeqwerty
    3 hours ago






  • 2





    @joeqwerty The OP should refer the supplier to their management to be told that they've decided to discontinue using their product. If the supplier is still contacting the company, they either don't know the company plans to stop doing business with them or they're hoping they can change the company's mind. If it's the former, the OP has just told somebody something they really shouldn't be. If it's the latter, the OP isn't the person who makes the decisions anyway.

    – Anthony Grist
    2 hours ago


















12















Sometimes I email with suppliers of different software products we use, may use in the future or have used in the past.
In these conversations I of course provide the info necessary so that the supplier can answer my question.
However there are also situations where i want to write:



"Hi, you mailed me to schedule a phone call but there is really no point. We are discontinuing your products because management has decided to go with technology X from competitor Y".



Of course they don't really need this detailed info, but it feels contrived to be secretive. Is there any harm with telling suppliers what tech we use and why?



Context: I am a developer and I don't have the last say in what we'll buy. EDIT: I do go to meetings and presentations to learn about products we (might) use. This way vendors get my contact details.



We are a services company, any (software) technology we use is there to support the services. So we do not compete directly with technology.










share|improve this question




















  • 2





    You're not being secretive by not telling them. You don't need to give them any reason and they're not entitled to know your reasons. "We've decided to discontinue using your product." is sufficient. If they ask why you can refer them to your management for an answer.

    – joeqwerty
    3 hours ago






  • 2





    @joeqwerty The OP should refer the supplier to their management to be told that they've decided to discontinue using their product. If the supplier is still contacting the company, they either don't know the company plans to stop doing business with them or they're hoping they can change the company's mind. If it's the former, the OP has just told somebody something they really shouldn't be. If it's the latter, the OP isn't the person who makes the decisions anyway.

    – Anthony Grist
    2 hours ago
















12












12








12








Sometimes I email with suppliers of different software products we use, may use in the future or have used in the past.
In these conversations I of course provide the info necessary so that the supplier can answer my question.
However there are also situations where i want to write:



"Hi, you mailed me to schedule a phone call but there is really no point. We are discontinuing your products because management has decided to go with technology X from competitor Y".



Of course they don't really need this detailed info, but it feels contrived to be secretive. Is there any harm with telling suppliers what tech we use and why?



Context: I am a developer and I don't have the last say in what we'll buy. EDIT: I do go to meetings and presentations to learn about products we (might) use. This way vendors get my contact details.



We are a services company, any (software) technology we use is there to support the services. So we do not compete directly with technology.










share|improve this question
















Sometimes I email with suppliers of different software products we use, may use in the future or have used in the past.
In these conversations I of course provide the info necessary so that the supplier can answer my question.
However there are also situations where i want to write:



"Hi, you mailed me to schedule a phone call but there is really no point. We are discontinuing your products because management has decided to go with technology X from competitor Y".



Of course they don't really need this detailed info, but it feels contrived to be secretive. Is there any harm with telling suppliers what tech we use and why?



Context: I am a developer and I don't have the last say in what we'll buy. EDIT: I do go to meetings and presentations to learn about products we (might) use. This way vendors get my contact details.



We are a services company, any (software) technology we use is there to support the services. So we do not compete directly with technology.







professionalism security






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 2 hours ago







Ivana

















asked 4 hours ago









IvanaIvana

18717




18717








  • 2





    You're not being secretive by not telling them. You don't need to give them any reason and they're not entitled to know your reasons. "We've decided to discontinue using your product." is sufficient. If they ask why you can refer them to your management for an answer.

    – joeqwerty
    3 hours ago






  • 2





    @joeqwerty The OP should refer the supplier to their management to be told that they've decided to discontinue using their product. If the supplier is still contacting the company, they either don't know the company plans to stop doing business with them or they're hoping they can change the company's mind. If it's the former, the OP has just told somebody something they really shouldn't be. If it's the latter, the OP isn't the person who makes the decisions anyway.

    – Anthony Grist
    2 hours ago
















  • 2





    You're not being secretive by not telling them. You don't need to give them any reason and they're not entitled to know your reasons. "We've decided to discontinue using your product." is sufficient. If they ask why you can refer them to your management for an answer.

    – joeqwerty
    3 hours ago






  • 2





    @joeqwerty The OP should refer the supplier to their management to be told that they've decided to discontinue using their product. If the supplier is still contacting the company, they either don't know the company plans to stop doing business with them or they're hoping they can change the company's mind. If it's the former, the OP has just told somebody something they really shouldn't be. If it's the latter, the OP isn't the person who makes the decisions anyway.

    – Anthony Grist
    2 hours ago










2




2





You're not being secretive by not telling them. You don't need to give them any reason and they're not entitled to know your reasons. "We've decided to discontinue using your product." is sufficient. If they ask why you can refer them to your management for an answer.

– joeqwerty
3 hours ago





You're not being secretive by not telling them. You don't need to give them any reason and they're not entitled to know your reasons. "We've decided to discontinue using your product." is sufficient. If they ask why you can refer them to your management for an answer.

– joeqwerty
3 hours ago




2




2





@joeqwerty The OP should refer the supplier to their management to be told that they've decided to discontinue using their product. If the supplier is still contacting the company, they either don't know the company plans to stop doing business with them or they're hoping they can change the company's mind. If it's the former, the OP has just told somebody something they really shouldn't be. If it's the latter, the OP isn't the person who makes the decisions anyway.

– Anthony Grist
2 hours ago







@joeqwerty The OP should refer the supplier to their management to be told that they've decided to discontinue using their product. If the supplier is still contacting the company, they either don't know the company plans to stop doing business with them or they're hoping they can change the company's mind. If it's the former, the OP has just told somebody something they really shouldn't be. If it's the latter, the OP isn't the person who makes the decisions anyway.

– Anthony Grist
2 hours ago












6 Answers
6






active

oldest

votes


















27















Is there any harm with telling suppliers what tech we use and why?




Would your competitors be interested to learn what tech you use and why? If so, then you shouldn't be giving this information to any supplier (who may also be a supplier to your competition).



Some suppliers seek to curry favor with their clients by passing along industry information they have gleaned.




I am a developer and i dont have the last say in what we'll buy.




Then it's not clear why you are conversing with suppliers anyway. It might be best to leave it to those who are in a position to make such decisions, and who have been properly trained to deal with suppliers.



I worked for a software company in a highly-competitive arena. We learned what our competition was planning through many channels. Talking with vendors was one way. One of our competitors in particular was extremely careless with their conversations and we learned some significant details about an important upcoming project. That knowledge allowed us to quickly plan a competing product and marketing message that could counter their new product.






share|improve this answer































    3














    Imagine the following:



    Apple decides to release iphone 20 but instead of using iOs 17 they want to bridge a gap in the market and use android 17 instead.



    You get an email from a supplier of your iOs department (let's pretend that apple decides the split the company from hardware and software) and they tell you they want to book a meeting about the implementation of iOS 17 on iphone 20 to which you reply that there is no need as you are using android 17 instead as per management decision.



    What impact does it make to the market share value?



    Could this be considered insider trading? Would this most likely be a breach of sensitive information?



    I will give you a real example now.



    I was working as a project manager for a CRM system on a previous job. The company providing the CRM failed every single goal we had given them. After 15 months of work spent with a massive team for this migration, the board decided against the migration.



    I, among others, was called into a meeting room and signed a NDA. We continued to meet with the other company who had onsite employees, we continued to work as if nothing happened for another 2 months while the company was preparing a legal case against the supplier.



    Moral of the story: don't share without knowing that you must share. Check with your superior.






    share|improve this answer
























    • I appreciate your answer, but here the information is obviously related to the core business of the company. This is not he case for us.

      – Ivana
      2 hours ago






    • 1





      @Ivana not entirely really. Even if your company has decided to use a different software, from the point of "decision" to actually using that software/product, you still don't have the product. Less is always more. Politely declining the invite as unavailable or simply going through with it is better. Specially if you are not able to make such decisions, why would the supplier want to hear this news coming from you instead of the correct means?

      – fireshark519
      2 hours ago



















    2














    While the other answers are good, I think that responses close the door too soon, especially if you or your company may reach out to the supplier or sales rep in a different company.



    How you could respond is:




    Thanks for your time and help! At this time, we are going in another direction.




    This kind of reply:




    • Does not divulge any information.

    • Doesn't leave much of a door to ask for more info

    • Doesn't burn any bridges






    share|improve this answer































      1














      As a rule of thumb, whenever you decline something in business with someone external, go with a friendly "no". Don´t explain yourself when you don´t have to. It can gain you nothing. (This also goes for declining potential job candidates)



      In your case, you´d just say:




      Hi, you mailed me to schedule a phone call. Thank you very much for the offer, but in this case we´ll have to decline. Unfortunately, we already made a decision against your product at this time.




      If you provide further Information, you will appear less sure of your decision. Also, you are opening yourself up to further discussion like: Oh, vendor B, yes we know their product, but have you considered our product hast feature X ... which will at best lead you to waste both your time and at worst you will give away even more information (but we don´t use feature X, we go with XYZ-Framework instead ...)



      If the salesperson chases you up and want´s to know why and what you´ll use instead, you can just tell them:




      I´m sorry, but this decision was not in my hands this time. Thank you for you service, and I´ll come back to you if we ever need your product again.







      share|improve this answer

































        0














        If the fact that you use that tech is public knowledge, like something that is listed in a job description, I see no harm in it. But, if you're talking about tech that is not public knowledge, you really shouldn't say it. A simple "I thank you for the contact, but we don't have further interest in your product" should be good enough.






        share|improve this answer































          0















          they don't really need this detailed info, but it feels contrived to be secretive.




          They don't need it, so you shouldn't supply it.



          Even if they do 'need' it, it probably isn't your place to reveal this.

          Don't feel bad, your suppliers will (should) know this, and won't (should not) be offended if they find out (or figure it out).

          This is how the game is played.

          As an example: if you know someone in a different softball league (who your team will never play) you don't discuss your secret signs with them... just because.




          Is there any harm with telling suppliers what tech we use and why?




          A possible harm is that it could have an effect on the support your company gets. Not very ethical... but I've seen it happen.





          Here's an unrelated example, that demonstrates how leaking information can be detrimental to a company in a way that wasn't expected:

          I worked at a company owned by a guy who we will call Jim.

          Jim's company mostly installed this one phone from this one supplier in Texas.

          This supplier sold phone systems across the US to other companies like Jim's company. Jim was one of their bigger customers (selling a few hundred phones per month).

          One day the president of the supplier flew in for a meeting with Jim. At the meeting he told Jim what the new phones were like, and showed pictures to see if he liked them. Jim asked for a couple of the new phone and the supplier's president said, "We don't have any yet. We are retooling our production lines from the old phones to the new ones."



          This told Jim that there was a limited supply of gray phones and the new white ones wouldn't be available until the lines were retooled (months).



          As soon as the supplier's president was out the door Jim called his procurement person and said, "Order 10,000 phones from [company]. If they say you can't have 10,000 order as many as they will let you order and let me know. I'll call back and ask why we can't have more."



          Soon after that (a month?) the supplier didn't have any phones for the rest of his US customers... and it was almost a year before the new phone arrived.



          Leaking information, even if you are authorized, can have terrible consequences for a business.



          Jim's company offered the old gray phones several years after this event, along with the new white ones!



          Does that help you think about things differently?

          Unintended/unexpected consequences are a real thing.






          share|improve this answer

























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            6 Answers
            6






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            oldest

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            6 Answers
            6






            active

            oldest

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            active

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            active

            oldest

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            27















            Is there any harm with telling suppliers what tech we use and why?




            Would your competitors be interested to learn what tech you use and why? If so, then you shouldn't be giving this information to any supplier (who may also be a supplier to your competition).



            Some suppliers seek to curry favor with their clients by passing along industry information they have gleaned.




            I am a developer and i dont have the last say in what we'll buy.




            Then it's not clear why you are conversing with suppliers anyway. It might be best to leave it to those who are in a position to make such decisions, and who have been properly trained to deal with suppliers.



            I worked for a software company in a highly-competitive arena. We learned what our competition was planning through many channels. Talking with vendors was one way. One of our competitors in particular was extremely careless with their conversations and we learned some significant details about an important upcoming project. That knowledge allowed us to quickly plan a competing product and marketing message that could counter their new product.






            share|improve this answer




























              27















              Is there any harm with telling suppliers what tech we use and why?




              Would your competitors be interested to learn what tech you use and why? If so, then you shouldn't be giving this information to any supplier (who may also be a supplier to your competition).



              Some suppliers seek to curry favor with their clients by passing along industry information they have gleaned.




              I am a developer and i dont have the last say in what we'll buy.




              Then it's not clear why you are conversing with suppliers anyway. It might be best to leave it to those who are in a position to make such decisions, and who have been properly trained to deal with suppliers.



              I worked for a software company in a highly-competitive arena. We learned what our competition was planning through many channels. Talking with vendors was one way. One of our competitors in particular was extremely careless with their conversations and we learned some significant details about an important upcoming project. That knowledge allowed us to quickly plan a competing product and marketing message that could counter their new product.






              share|improve this answer


























                27












                27








                27








                Is there any harm with telling suppliers what tech we use and why?




                Would your competitors be interested to learn what tech you use and why? If so, then you shouldn't be giving this information to any supplier (who may also be a supplier to your competition).



                Some suppliers seek to curry favor with their clients by passing along industry information they have gleaned.




                I am a developer and i dont have the last say in what we'll buy.




                Then it's not clear why you are conversing with suppliers anyway. It might be best to leave it to those who are in a position to make such decisions, and who have been properly trained to deal with suppliers.



                I worked for a software company in a highly-competitive arena. We learned what our competition was planning through many channels. Talking with vendors was one way. One of our competitors in particular was extremely careless with their conversations and we learned some significant details about an important upcoming project. That knowledge allowed us to quickly plan a competing product and marketing message that could counter their new product.






                share|improve this answer














                Is there any harm with telling suppliers what tech we use and why?




                Would your competitors be interested to learn what tech you use and why? If so, then you shouldn't be giving this information to any supplier (who may also be a supplier to your competition).



                Some suppliers seek to curry favor with their clients by passing along industry information they have gleaned.




                I am a developer and i dont have the last say in what we'll buy.




                Then it's not clear why you are conversing with suppliers anyway. It might be best to leave it to those who are in a position to make such decisions, and who have been properly trained to deal with suppliers.



                I worked for a software company in a highly-competitive arena. We learned what our competition was planning through many channels. Talking with vendors was one way. One of our competitors in particular was extremely careless with their conversations and we learned some significant details about an important upcoming project. That knowledge allowed us to quickly plan a competing product and marketing message that could counter their new product.







                share|improve this answer












                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer










                answered 3 hours ago









                Joe StrazzereJoe Strazzere

                249k1237271028




                249k1237271028

























                    3














                    Imagine the following:



                    Apple decides to release iphone 20 but instead of using iOs 17 they want to bridge a gap in the market and use android 17 instead.



                    You get an email from a supplier of your iOs department (let's pretend that apple decides the split the company from hardware and software) and they tell you they want to book a meeting about the implementation of iOS 17 on iphone 20 to which you reply that there is no need as you are using android 17 instead as per management decision.



                    What impact does it make to the market share value?



                    Could this be considered insider trading? Would this most likely be a breach of sensitive information?



                    I will give you a real example now.



                    I was working as a project manager for a CRM system on a previous job. The company providing the CRM failed every single goal we had given them. After 15 months of work spent with a massive team for this migration, the board decided against the migration.



                    I, among others, was called into a meeting room and signed a NDA. We continued to meet with the other company who had onsite employees, we continued to work as if nothing happened for another 2 months while the company was preparing a legal case against the supplier.



                    Moral of the story: don't share without knowing that you must share. Check with your superior.






                    share|improve this answer
























                    • I appreciate your answer, but here the information is obviously related to the core business of the company. This is not he case for us.

                      – Ivana
                      2 hours ago






                    • 1





                      @Ivana not entirely really. Even if your company has decided to use a different software, from the point of "decision" to actually using that software/product, you still don't have the product. Less is always more. Politely declining the invite as unavailable or simply going through with it is better. Specially if you are not able to make such decisions, why would the supplier want to hear this news coming from you instead of the correct means?

                      – fireshark519
                      2 hours ago
















                    3














                    Imagine the following:



                    Apple decides to release iphone 20 but instead of using iOs 17 they want to bridge a gap in the market and use android 17 instead.



                    You get an email from a supplier of your iOs department (let's pretend that apple decides the split the company from hardware and software) and they tell you they want to book a meeting about the implementation of iOS 17 on iphone 20 to which you reply that there is no need as you are using android 17 instead as per management decision.



                    What impact does it make to the market share value?



                    Could this be considered insider trading? Would this most likely be a breach of sensitive information?



                    I will give you a real example now.



                    I was working as a project manager for a CRM system on a previous job. The company providing the CRM failed every single goal we had given them. After 15 months of work spent with a massive team for this migration, the board decided against the migration.



                    I, among others, was called into a meeting room and signed a NDA. We continued to meet with the other company who had onsite employees, we continued to work as if nothing happened for another 2 months while the company was preparing a legal case against the supplier.



                    Moral of the story: don't share without knowing that you must share. Check with your superior.






                    share|improve this answer
























                    • I appreciate your answer, but here the information is obviously related to the core business of the company. This is not he case for us.

                      – Ivana
                      2 hours ago






                    • 1





                      @Ivana not entirely really. Even if your company has decided to use a different software, from the point of "decision" to actually using that software/product, you still don't have the product. Less is always more. Politely declining the invite as unavailable or simply going through with it is better. Specially if you are not able to make such decisions, why would the supplier want to hear this news coming from you instead of the correct means?

                      – fireshark519
                      2 hours ago














                    3












                    3








                    3







                    Imagine the following:



                    Apple decides to release iphone 20 but instead of using iOs 17 they want to bridge a gap in the market and use android 17 instead.



                    You get an email from a supplier of your iOs department (let's pretend that apple decides the split the company from hardware and software) and they tell you they want to book a meeting about the implementation of iOS 17 on iphone 20 to which you reply that there is no need as you are using android 17 instead as per management decision.



                    What impact does it make to the market share value?



                    Could this be considered insider trading? Would this most likely be a breach of sensitive information?



                    I will give you a real example now.



                    I was working as a project manager for a CRM system on a previous job. The company providing the CRM failed every single goal we had given them. After 15 months of work spent with a massive team for this migration, the board decided against the migration.



                    I, among others, was called into a meeting room and signed a NDA. We continued to meet with the other company who had onsite employees, we continued to work as if nothing happened for another 2 months while the company was preparing a legal case against the supplier.



                    Moral of the story: don't share without knowing that you must share. Check with your superior.






                    share|improve this answer













                    Imagine the following:



                    Apple decides to release iphone 20 but instead of using iOs 17 they want to bridge a gap in the market and use android 17 instead.



                    You get an email from a supplier of your iOs department (let's pretend that apple decides the split the company from hardware and software) and they tell you they want to book a meeting about the implementation of iOS 17 on iphone 20 to which you reply that there is no need as you are using android 17 instead as per management decision.



                    What impact does it make to the market share value?



                    Could this be considered insider trading? Would this most likely be a breach of sensitive information?



                    I will give you a real example now.



                    I was working as a project manager for a CRM system on a previous job. The company providing the CRM failed every single goal we had given them. After 15 months of work spent with a massive team for this migration, the board decided against the migration.



                    I, among others, was called into a meeting room and signed a NDA. We continued to meet with the other company who had onsite employees, we continued to work as if nothing happened for another 2 months while the company was preparing a legal case against the supplier.



                    Moral of the story: don't share without knowing that you must share. Check with your superior.







                    share|improve this answer












                    share|improve this answer



                    share|improve this answer










                    answered 3 hours ago









                    fireshark519fireshark519

                    1,057112




                    1,057112













                    • I appreciate your answer, but here the information is obviously related to the core business of the company. This is not he case for us.

                      – Ivana
                      2 hours ago






                    • 1





                      @Ivana not entirely really. Even if your company has decided to use a different software, from the point of "decision" to actually using that software/product, you still don't have the product. Less is always more. Politely declining the invite as unavailable or simply going through with it is better. Specially if you are not able to make such decisions, why would the supplier want to hear this news coming from you instead of the correct means?

                      – fireshark519
                      2 hours ago



















                    • I appreciate your answer, but here the information is obviously related to the core business of the company. This is not he case for us.

                      – Ivana
                      2 hours ago






                    • 1





                      @Ivana not entirely really. Even if your company has decided to use a different software, from the point of "decision" to actually using that software/product, you still don't have the product. Less is always more. Politely declining the invite as unavailable or simply going through with it is better. Specially if you are not able to make such decisions, why would the supplier want to hear this news coming from you instead of the correct means?

                      – fireshark519
                      2 hours ago

















                    I appreciate your answer, but here the information is obviously related to the core business of the company. This is not he case for us.

                    – Ivana
                    2 hours ago





                    I appreciate your answer, but here the information is obviously related to the core business of the company. This is not he case for us.

                    – Ivana
                    2 hours ago




                    1




                    1





                    @Ivana not entirely really. Even if your company has decided to use a different software, from the point of "decision" to actually using that software/product, you still don't have the product. Less is always more. Politely declining the invite as unavailable or simply going through with it is better. Specially if you are not able to make such decisions, why would the supplier want to hear this news coming from you instead of the correct means?

                    – fireshark519
                    2 hours ago





                    @Ivana not entirely really. Even if your company has decided to use a different software, from the point of "decision" to actually using that software/product, you still don't have the product. Less is always more. Politely declining the invite as unavailable or simply going through with it is better. Specially if you are not able to make such decisions, why would the supplier want to hear this news coming from you instead of the correct means?

                    – fireshark519
                    2 hours ago











                    2














                    While the other answers are good, I think that responses close the door too soon, especially if you or your company may reach out to the supplier or sales rep in a different company.



                    How you could respond is:




                    Thanks for your time and help! At this time, we are going in another direction.




                    This kind of reply:




                    • Does not divulge any information.

                    • Doesn't leave much of a door to ask for more info

                    • Doesn't burn any bridges






                    share|improve this answer




























                      2














                      While the other answers are good, I think that responses close the door too soon, especially if you or your company may reach out to the supplier or sales rep in a different company.



                      How you could respond is:




                      Thanks for your time and help! At this time, we are going in another direction.




                      This kind of reply:




                      • Does not divulge any information.

                      • Doesn't leave much of a door to ask for more info

                      • Doesn't burn any bridges






                      share|improve this answer


























                        2












                        2








                        2







                        While the other answers are good, I think that responses close the door too soon, especially if you or your company may reach out to the supplier or sales rep in a different company.



                        How you could respond is:




                        Thanks for your time and help! At this time, we are going in another direction.




                        This kind of reply:




                        • Does not divulge any information.

                        • Doesn't leave much of a door to ask for more info

                        • Doesn't burn any bridges






                        share|improve this answer













                        While the other answers are good, I think that responses close the door too soon, especially if you or your company may reach out to the supplier or sales rep in a different company.



                        How you could respond is:




                        Thanks for your time and help! At this time, we are going in another direction.




                        This kind of reply:




                        • Does not divulge any information.

                        • Doesn't leave much of a door to ask for more info

                        • Doesn't burn any bridges







                        share|improve this answer












                        share|improve this answer



                        share|improve this answer










                        answered 3 hours ago









                        Robert DundonRobert Dundon

                        1,703199




                        1,703199























                            1














                            As a rule of thumb, whenever you decline something in business with someone external, go with a friendly "no". Don´t explain yourself when you don´t have to. It can gain you nothing. (This also goes for declining potential job candidates)



                            In your case, you´d just say:




                            Hi, you mailed me to schedule a phone call. Thank you very much for the offer, but in this case we´ll have to decline. Unfortunately, we already made a decision against your product at this time.




                            If you provide further Information, you will appear less sure of your decision. Also, you are opening yourself up to further discussion like: Oh, vendor B, yes we know their product, but have you considered our product hast feature X ... which will at best lead you to waste both your time and at worst you will give away even more information (but we don´t use feature X, we go with XYZ-Framework instead ...)



                            If the salesperson chases you up and want´s to know why and what you´ll use instead, you can just tell them:




                            I´m sorry, but this decision was not in my hands this time. Thank you for you service, and I´ll come back to you if we ever need your product again.







                            share|improve this answer






























                              1














                              As a rule of thumb, whenever you decline something in business with someone external, go with a friendly "no". Don´t explain yourself when you don´t have to. It can gain you nothing. (This also goes for declining potential job candidates)



                              In your case, you´d just say:




                              Hi, you mailed me to schedule a phone call. Thank you very much for the offer, but in this case we´ll have to decline. Unfortunately, we already made a decision against your product at this time.




                              If you provide further Information, you will appear less sure of your decision. Also, you are opening yourself up to further discussion like: Oh, vendor B, yes we know their product, but have you considered our product hast feature X ... which will at best lead you to waste both your time and at worst you will give away even more information (but we don´t use feature X, we go with XYZ-Framework instead ...)



                              If the salesperson chases you up and want´s to know why and what you´ll use instead, you can just tell them:




                              I´m sorry, but this decision was not in my hands this time. Thank you for you service, and I´ll come back to you if we ever need your product again.







                              share|improve this answer




























                                1












                                1








                                1







                                As a rule of thumb, whenever you decline something in business with someone external, go with a friendly "no". Don´t explain yourself when you don´t have to. It can gain you nothing. (This also goes for declining potential job candidates)



                                In your case, you´d just say:




                                Hi, you mailed me to schedule a phone call. Thank you very much for the offer, but in this case we´ll have to decline. Unfortunately, we already made a decision against your product at this time.




                                If you provide further Information, you will appear less sure of your decision. Also, you are opening yourself up to further discussion like: Oh, vendor B, yes we know their product, but have you considered our product hast feature X ... which will at best lead you to waste both your time and at worst you will give away even more information (but we don´t use feature X, we go with XYZ-Framework instead ...)



                                If the salesperson chases you up and want´s to know why and what you´ll use instead, you can just tell them:




                                I´m sorry, but this decision was not in my hands this time. Thank you for you service, and I´ll come back to you if we ever need your product again.







                                share|improve this answer















                                As a rule of thumb, whenever you decline something in business with someone external, go with a friendly "no". Don´t explain yourself when you don´t have to. It can gain you nothing. (This also goes for declining potential job candidates)



                                In your case, you´d just say:




                                Hi, you mailed me to schedule a phone call. Thank you very much for the offer, but in this case we´ll have to decline. Unfortunately, we already made a decision against your product at this time.




                                If you provide further Information, you will appear less sure of your decision. Also, you are opening yourself up to further discussion like: Oh, vendor B, yes we know their product, but have you considered our product hast feature X ... which will at best lead you to waste both your time and at worst you will give away even more information (but we don´t use feature X, we go with XYZ-Framework instead ...)



                                If the salesperson chases you up and want´s to know why and what you´ll use instead, you can just tell them:




                                I´m sorry, but this decision was not in my hands this time. Thank you for you service, and I´ll come back to you if we ever need your product again.








                                share|improve this answer














                                share|improve this answer



                                share|improve this answer








                                edited 3 hours ago

























                                answered 3 hours ago









                                DanielDaniel

                                16.2k93562




                                16.2k93562























                                    0














                                    If the fact that you use that tech is public knowledge, like something that is listed in a job description, I see no harm in it. But, if you're talking about tech that is not public knowledge, you really shouldn't say it. A simple "I thank you for the contact, but we don't have further interest in your product" should be good enough.






                                    share|improve this answer




























                                      0














                                      If the fact that you use that tech is public knowledge, like something that is listed in a job description, I see no harm in it. But, if you're talking about tech that is not public knowledge, you really shouldn't say it. A simple "I thank you for the contact, but we don't have further interest in your product" should be good enough.






                                      share|improve this answer


























                                        0












                                        0








                                        0







                                        If the fact that you use that tech is public knowledge, like something that is listed in a job description, I see no harm in it. But, if you're talking about tech that is not public knowledge, you really shouldn't say it. A simple "I thank you for the contact, but we don't have further interest in your product" should be good enough.






                                        share|improve this answer













                                        If the fact that you use that tech is public knowledge, like something that is listed in a job description, I see no harm in it. But, if you're talking about tech that is not public knowledge, you really shouldn't say it. A simple "I thank you for the contact, but we don't have further interest in your product" should be good enough.







                                        share|improve this answer












                                        share|improve this answer



                                        share|improve this answer










                                        answered 3 hours ago









                                        Lucas EspindolaLucas Espindola

                                        1,7942415




                                        1,7942415























                                            0















                                            they don't really need this detailed info, but it feels contrived to be secretive.




                                            They don't need it, so you shouldn't supply it.



                                            Even if they do 'need' it, it probably isn't your place to reveal this.

                                            Don't feel bad, your suppliers will (should) know this, and won't (should not) be offended if they find out (or figure it out).

                                            This is how the game is played.

                                            As an example: if you know someone in a different softball league (who your team will never play) you don't discuss your secret signs with them... just because.




                                            Is there any harm with telling suppliers what tech we use and why?




                                            A possible harm is that it could have an effect on the support your company gets. Not very ethical... but I've seen it happen.





                                            Here's an unrelated example, that demonstrates how leaking information can be detrimental to a company in a way that wasn't expected:

                                            I worked at a company owned by a guy who we will call Jim.

                                            Jim's company mostly installed this one phone from this one supplier in Texas.

                                            This supplier sold phone systems across the US to other companies like Jim's company. Jim was one of their bigger customers (selling a few hundred phones per month).

                                            One day the president of the supplier flew in for a meeting with Jim. At the meeting he told Jim what the new phones were like, and showed pictures to see if he liked them. Jim asked for a couple of the new phone and the supplier's president said, "We don't have any yet. We are retooling our production lines from the old phones to the new ones."



                                            This told Jim that there was a limited supply of gray phones and the new white ones wouldn't be available until the lines were retooled (months).



                                            As soon as the supplier's president was out the door Jim called his procurement person and said, "Order 10,000 phones from [company]. If they say you can't have 10,000 order as many as they will let you order and let me know. I'll call back and ask why we can't have more."



                                            Soon after that (a month?) the supplier didn't have any phones for the rest of his US customers... and it was almost a year before the new phone arrived.



                                            Leaking information, even if you are authorized, can have terrible consequences for a business.



                                            Jim's company offered the old gray phones several years after this event, along with the new white ones!



                                            Does that help you think about things differently?

                                            Unintended/unexpected consequences are a real thing.






                                            share|improve this answer






























                                              0















                                              they don't really need this detailed info, but it feels contrived to be secretive.




                                              They don't need it, so you shouldn't supply it.



                                              Even if they do 'need' it, it probably isn't your place to reveal this.

                                              Don't feel bad, your suppliers will (should) know this, and won't (should not) be offended if they find out (or figure it out).

                                              This is how the game is played.

                                              As an example: if you know someone in a different softball league (who your team will never play) you don't discuss your secret signs with them... just because.




                                              Is there any harm with telling suppliers what tech we use and why?




                                              A possible harm is that it could have an effect on the support your company gets. Not very ethical... but I've seen it happen.





                                              Here's an unrelated example, that demonstrates how leaking information can be detrimental to a company in a way that wasn't expected:

                                              I worked at a company owned by a guy who we will call Jim.

                                              Jim's company mostly installed this one phone from this one supplier in Texas.

                                              This supplier sold phone systems across the US to other companies like Jim's company. Jim was one of their bigger customers (selling a few hundred phones per month).

                                              One day the president of the supplier flew in for a meeting with Jim. At the meeting he told Jim what the new phones were like, and showed pictures to see if he liked them. Jim asked for a couple of the new phone and the supplier's president said, "We don't have any yet. We are retooling our production lines from the old phones to the new ones."



                                              This told Jim that there was a limited supply of gray phones and the new white ones wouldn't be available until the lines were retooled (months).



                                              As soon as the supplier's president was out the door Jim called his procurement person and said, "Order 10,000 phones from [company]. If they say you can't have 10,000 order as many as they will let you order and let me know. I'll call back and ask why we can't have more."



                                              Soon after that (a month?) the supplier didn't have any phones for the rest of his US customers... and it was almost a year before the new phone arrived.



                                              Leaking information, even if you are authorized, can have terrible consequences for a business.



                                              Jim's company offered the old gray phones several years after this event, along with the new white ones!



                                              Does that help you think about things differently?

                                              Unintended/unexpected consequences are a real thing.






                                              share|improve this answer




























                                                0












                                                0








                                                0








                                                they don't really need this detailed info, but it feels contrived to be secretive.




                                                They don't need it, so you shouldn't supply it.



                                                Even if they do 'need' it, it probably isn't your place to reveal this.

                                                Don't feel bad, your suppliers will (should) know this, and won't (should not) be offended if they find out (or figure it out).

                                                This is how the game is played.

                                                As an example: if you know someone in a different softball league (who your team will never play) you don't discuss your secret signs with them... just because.




                                                Is there any harm with telling suppliers what tech we use and why?




                                                A possible harm is that it could have an effect on the support your company gets. Not very ethical... but I've seen it happen.





                                                Here's an unrelated example, that demonstrates how leaking information can be detrimental to a company in a way that wasn't expected:

                                                I worked at a company owned by a guy who we will call Jim.

                                                Jim's company mostly installed this one phone from this one supplier in Texas.

                                                This supplier sold phone systems across the US to other companies like Jim's company. Jim was one of their bigger customers (selling a few hundred phones per month).

                                                One day the president of the supplier flew in for a meeting with Jim. At the meeting he told Jim what the new phones were like, and showed pictures to see if he liked them. Jim asked for a couple of the new phone and the supplier's president said, "We don't have any yet. We are retooling our production lines from the old phones to the new ones."



                                                This told Jim that there was a limited supply of gray phones and the new white ones wouldn't be available until the lines were retooled (months).



                                                As soon as the supplier's president was out the door Jim called his procurement person and said, "Order 10,000 phones from [company]. If they say you can't have 10,000 order as many as they will let you order and let me know. I'll call back and ask why we can't have more."



                                                Soon after that (a month?) the supplier didn't have any phones for the rest of his US customers... and it was almost a year before the new phone arrived.



                                                Leaking information, even if you are authorized, can have terrible consequences for a business.



                                                Jim's company offered the old gray phones several years after this event, along with the new white ones!



                                                Does that help you think about things differently?

                                                Unintended/unexpected consequences are a real thing.






                                                share|improve this answer
















                                                they don't really need this detailed info, but it feels contrived to be secretive.




                                                They don't need it, so you shouldn't supply it.



                                                Even if they do 'need' it, it probably isn't your place to reveal this.

                                                Don't feel bad, your suppliers will (should) know this, and won't (should not) be offended if they find out (or figure it out).

                                                This is how the game is played.

                                                As an example: if you know someone in a different softball league (who your team will never play) you don't discuss your secret signs with them... just because.




                                                Is there any harm with telling suppliers what tech we use and why?




                                                A possible harm is that it could have an effect on the support your company gets. Not very ethical... but I've seen it happen.





                                                Here's an unrelated example, that demonstrates how leaking information can be detrimental to a company in a way that wasn't expected:

                                                I worked at a company owned by a guy who we will call Jim.

                                                Jim's company mostly installed this one phone from this one supplier in Texas.

                                                This supplier sold phone systems across the US to other companies like Jim's company. Jim was one of their bigger customers (selling a few hundred phones per month).

                                                One day the president of the supplier flew in for a meeting with Jim. At the meeting he told Jim what the new phones were like, and showed pictures to see if he liked them. Jim asked for a couple of the new phone and the supplier's president said, "We don't have any yet. We are retooling our production lines from the old phones to the new ones."



                                                This told Jim that there was a limited supply of gray phones and the new white ones wouldn't be available until the lines were retooled (months).



                                                As soon as the supplier's president was out the door Jim called his procurement person and said, "Order 10,000 phones from [company]. If they say you can't have 10,000 order as many as they will let you order and let me know. I'll call back and ask why we can't have more."



                                                Soon after that (a month?) the supplier didn't have any phones for the rest of his US customers... and it was almost a year before the new phone arrived.



                                                Leaking information, even if you are authorized, can have terrible consequences for a business.



                                                Jim's company offered the old gray phones several years after this event, along with the new white ones!



                                                Does that help you think about things differently?

                                                Unintended/unexpected consequences are a real thing.







                                                share|improve this answer














                                                share|improve this answer



                                                share|improve this answer








                                                edited 53 mins ago

























                                                answered 1 hour ago









                                                J. Chris ComptonJ. Chris Compton

                                                5,0941032




                                                5,0941032






























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