Brazilian customer-supplier relationships require flexibility from both sides. When circumstances change—when a customer faces cash flow problems, when a supplier encounters production delays, when the unexpected happens—the expectation is accommodation, not rigid enforcement of terms. The supplier who demands literal contract compliance without regard for customer difficulties damages the relationship.
The customer who refuses any variance from specifications without considering supplier challenges does the same. Flexibility signals that you value the relationship beyond the immediate transaction. Rigidity signals that only the contract matters.
In Brazilian commercial culture, the rigid party is the one damaging the relationship. This doesn’t mean accepting anything goes—expectations exist and matter. But the relationship must have room to breathe, to adapt.
When you show flexibility, you build trust. When you insist on rigid terms, you erode it.
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