Even nonsports enthusiasts in procurement will get this analogy.
The Canadian Football League has nine teams. When I was growing up in the 1960s, two of the nine teams were called Roughriders. With only nine teams, the league couldn’t figure out how to come up with nine different original names, which was a common joke. The only way to distinguish between the two teams is by how “Roughriders” were spelled. Saskatchewan’s team was the Roughriders, while the Ottawa team was the Rough Riders.
The Procurement Connection
Yesterday, I wrote a post titled: The Relationship Between The Bullwhip Effect And The Silent Slope (1930, 2009 and 2024). As a follower of this blog, you already know that my main reason for posting is to stimulate meaningful discussion and constructive debate. It has and never will be about agreement or being right; it is about getting it right.
“The Bullwhip Effect affects inventory and production planning; hence, it has nothing to do with Silent Slopes, which describes suppliers’ tendencies to say and do nothing about pricing to customers when their input costs fall.” – Leading Industry Authority on Silent Slopes and Creeping Margins
Based on the above, I was somewhat surprised, a little confused, and grateful for the timely feedback because it contradicted the following research:
“The Silent Slope and the Bullwhip Effect are closely related phenomena. Both are driven by distorted or delayed demand signals and poor communication within the supply chain.”
For me, a disagreement in facts is an invitation to learn more and believe me, after 40-plus years in high-tech and procurement, the learning never stops – nor should it.
After digging a little deeper, I discovered that in the procurement world, “silent slope” has three different meanings, which are as follows:
Silent Slope (Negotiation and Pricing) – suppliers’ tendencies to say and do nothing about pricing to customers when their input costs fall.
Silent Slope (Decline in Demand) – a gradual and unnoticed decline in demand for goods or services over time.
Silent Slope (Supplier Performance) – a gradual decline in supplier performance (e.g., quality, delivery times, service levels) that goes unnoticed by procurement teams.
One Question Equals More Questions
When you hear the word silent slope, which one of the above definitions comes to mind?
Were you aware of the other two definitions?
What is the common solution thread that runs through all three? (my answer is visibility and data)
What ProcureTech solution would best address all three?
An Interesting Origin?
Seeing that we are in the ChatGPT era, I asked the AI genie: “When was the term silent slope first used?”
Here was the answer I received:
The term “Silent Slope” in procurement refers to the phenomenon where suppliers do not proactively reduce prices when their input costs decrease, leading to potential overpayment by buyers. This concept has been discussed in procurement circles for several years, with notable references appearing around 2021.
In a March 2021 article on Thomasnet, Rod Sherkin, founder and president of ProPurchaser, elaborated on the concept of Silent Slopes, emphasizing the importance for procurement professionals to monitor suppliers’ input costs to identify opportunities for negotiating lower prices when suppliers’ costs decline.
Additionally, in August 2023, Spend Matters featured an article discussing the Silent Slope, highlighting how suppliers may not proactively adjust prices downward in line with decreasing raw material costs, and the onus is on procurement professionals to understand cost structures and initiate price discussions.
These references indicate that while the concept of the Silent Slope has been present in procurement discussions, it gained more formal recognition and usage in industry literature and discussions around 2021, with continued emphasis in subsequent years.
For a more in-depth understanding of the Silent Slope and its implications in procurement, you might find the following video informative:
Video: How do you master procurement’s “Silent Slope?”
Closing Thoughts – Next week, we discuss acronyms 😉
Procurement Insights 
What Does The Term Silent Slope Mean To You?
Posted on December 18, 2024
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Even nonsports enthusiasts in procurement will get this analogy.
The Canadian Football League has nine teams. When I was growing up in the 1960s, two of the nine teams were called Roughriders. With only nine teams, the league couldn’t figure out how to come up with nine different original names, which was a common joke. The only way to distinguish between the two teams is by how “Roughriders” were spelled. Saskatchewan’s team was the Roughriders, while the Ottawa team was the Rough Riders.
The Procurement Connection
Yesterday, I wrote a post titled: The Relationship Between The Bullwhip Effect And The Silent Slope (1930, 2009 and 2024). As a follower of this blog, you already know that my main reason for posting is to stimulate meaningful discussion and constructive debate. It has and never will be about agreement or being right; it is about getting it right.
“The Bullwhip Effect affects inventory and production planning; hence, it has nothing to do with Silent Slopes, which describes suppliers’ tendencies to say and do nothing about pricing to customers when their input costs fall.” – Leading Industry Authority on Silent Slopes and Creeping Margins
Based on the above, I was somewhat surprised, a little confused, and grateful for the timely feedback because it contradicted the following research:
“The Silent Slope and the Bullwhip Effect are closely related phenomena. Both are driven by distorted or delayed demand signals and poor communication within the supply chain.”
For me, a disagreement in facts is an invitation to learn more and believe me, after 40-plus years in high-tech and procurement, the learning never stops – nor should it.
After digging a little deeper, I discovered that in the procurement world, “silent slope” has three different meanings, which are as follows:
One Question Equals More Questions
An Interesting Origin?
Seeing that we are in the ChatGPT era, I asked the AI genie: “When was the term silent slope first used?”
Here was the answer I received:
The term “Silent Slope” in procurement refers to the phenomenon where suppliers do not proactively reduce prices when their input costs decrease, leading to potential overpayment by buyers. This concept has been discussed in procurement circles for several years, with notable references appearing around 2021.
In a March 2021 article on Thomasnet, Rod Sherkin, founder and president of ProPurchaser, elaborated on the concept of Silent Slopes, emphasizing the importance for procurement professionals to monitor suppliers’ input costs to identify opportunities for negotiating lower prices when suppliers’ costs decline.
Additionally, in August 2023, Spend Matters featured an article discussing the Silent Slope, highlighting how suppliers may not proactively adjust prices downward in line with decreasing raw material costs, and the onus is on procurement professionals to understand cost structures and initiate price discussions.
These references indicate that while the concept of the Silent Slope has been present in procurement discussions, it gained more formal recognition and usage in industry literature and discussions around 2021, with continued emphasis in subsequent years.
For a more in-depth understanding of the Silent Slope and its implications in procurement, you might find the following video informative:
Video: How do you master procurement’s “Silent Slope?”
Closing Thoughts – Next week, we discuss acronyms 😉
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