In general, purchasing agents have a good deal of disdain for engineers (and probably vice-versa).  This doesn’t have to be the case, but it generally is.  Below is a list of reasons why this often happens.  These two groups rarely work together in harmony, but with a little effort they probably can.

In my experience as a finder of hard to find metals, I get inquiries from buyers on a daily basis for metals, forms, sizes and quantities that are simply not available from US metal suppliers. Typically, the buyer has received a print from a client for a new widget designed by an engineer who has searched high and low to find “the perfect material” for his or her new design.

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