Suppliers in turn are on the hook for continuous cost reductions. In some large companies, this takes the form of an annual ritual. Each year, the buyer hands the supplier representative a slip of paper. On the paper is a number -the percent reduction in price required to do business for another year. At most, these are incremental steps, amounting — if one is lucky — to a few percentage points improvement a year. This is sufficient for all involved to keep their jobs, particularly the sales person and the buyer who negotiate the deal.