Inform Pillar | Procurement Knowledge for SMB Buyers
5 min read
The Reference Check You Are Doing Is Not a Reference Check
Sylvia Luchian
Founder & Head of Procurement Practice
The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer found that personal networks now carry more weight than published case studies, independent reviews, or formal analyst ratings. Sixty-two percent of people said they would trust a company they currently distrust if it were vouched for by someone they already trusted.1
This is not a consumer behaviour insight. This is a procurement insight. The way business owners evaluate vendors has shifted fundamentally. Formal procurement processes that rely heavily on vendor-provided documentation are missing the data that actually drives decisions. Your peer network is now your most valuable due diligence tool, and most businesses are not using it properly.
When you ask a vendor for references, you are asking them to introduce you to their most satisfied customers. Those customers are often in a positive phase of their contract cycle. They have not yet been through a renewal negotiation. They have not experienced what happens when something goes wrong. They were selected for a reason.
Those references tell you whether the vendor can deliver in ideal conditions. They give you a sense of how the vendor communicates and what their strengths look like. That’s useful. What they do not tell you is what happens at month eighteen when the implementation team has moved on and you are dealing with account managers who do not know your business. They do not tell you what the renewal conversation looks like. They do not tell you what the vendor does when there is a dispute.
Key Takeaway: Vendor-provided references tell you what the vendor wants you to believe. Your own network tells you what you need to know. Build one deliberately and use it before you sign.
A peer reference network for procurement purposes is a set of relationships with people in similar businesses who have been through similar procurement decisions and are willing to share what they learned. Industry associations, peer groups, and professional networks are the natural homes for this. The value is not in the formal structure but in the informal conversation.
The 2026 Edelman data notes that trusted voices in personal networks can open doors that formal institutional sources cannot.2 In procurement, a strong recommendation from a trusted peer can move a vendor from unknown to shortlisted. A cautionary story from the same source can save you from a decision you would have regretted.
Key Takeaway: The best due diligence for a major supplier decision is a twenty-minute conversation with someone in your industry who has already made that decision. Invest in building those relationships before you need them.
When you speak to a peer who has worked with a vendor you are evaluating, the questions that matter most are not on the vendor's reference script. Ask what the onboarding experience was actually like. Ask what happened the first time something went wrong. Ask what the renewal conversation looked like and whether the vendor's pricing changed. Ask what they wish they had known before they signed. Ask whether they would choose the same vendor again, and why or why not.
These questions surface the operational reality of the relationship, not the vendor's curated version of it. They give you the information you need to make a decision with your eyes open.
Key Takeaway: Prepare your peer reference questions before you make the call. The vendor's reference process is designed to generate positive responses. Your own questions are designed to generate useful ones. Know the difference before you pick up the phone.
The peer network dynamic runs in both directions. You are also a reference for your suppliers. When a prospective customer of your current supplier asks around, your name may come up. The reputation your business has as a customer, including whether you pay on time, communicate clearly, and treat your suppliers as partners, is part of your procurement standing in the market.
The best suppliers talk to each other about their best customers. If your business is known as a good customer, you will get better service, faster escalation responses, and preferential treatment when capacity is constrained. That’s a real competitive advantage that most businesses do not think about.
Key Takeaway: Be the kind of customer that suppliers want to reference. Pay on time. Communicate clearly. Treat your vendors as partners. Your reputation as a buyer is an asset in the supplier market.
1 Edelman Trust Institute 2026, 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer: Trust Amid Insularity, Edelman, New York, viewed 15 May 2026, https://www.edelman.com/trust/2026/trust-barometer, p. 22.
2 Edelman Trust Institute 2026, 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer, p. 23.
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