Ethics and corruption in procurement are sometimes a difficoult subject to be openly discussed. It is often perceived, that the supplier is mainly responsible for corruption and the buyer has simply been "urged" to take a small gift.

Actually, things are very simple...

As a purchasing manager of a large corporation I had daily transactions with hundreds of suppliers in Greece and abroad relating to substantial amounts. Over all those years, it never once crossed my mind to engage in any unrightful transaction. And never once did any supplier try to lure me into anything unrightful. Of course I am not refering to small advertising gifts of neglegible value or a bottle of wine for Christmas, this was the rule back in those days. I guess today, even this would not be tolerated in many companies.

For something unrightful to happen the control and most often the initiative lies on the buying party.

Every supplier must try to sell his products and if he realises that in order to sell he must provide "other compensation", then he will be tempted to find a way to bribe the buyer. If the seller understands that he cannot bribe, well... he will not bribe. If the procurement officer who decides on where to place the purchase order wants a "gift", then in most cases he will be bribed. If he does not want to be bribed, there is no way he is going to be bribed. Nobody is forced to be bribed. It is that simple...

And a final note:

In the bottom line, ethical and clean procurement is another long term and strong competitve advantage for every institution and company in this world...