When you want to reward a favourite supplier or customer, there are forms of etiquette that will make all the difference between a welcome gift and an embarrassing misstep that completely violates the recipient company’s gift compliance policy. If your supplier representative is a favourite personality for example, it would be very lovely to be able to give a token gift that reflects your worthiness and a knowledge of their gift acceptance policy. e.g. It is possible that someone has done a splendid job on a contractural basis and you wish to reward them. Care must be taken that it doesn’t come over as in any way bribing the recipient into doing more for your company or perhaps bending the rule book as a favour. All companies of any standing should have policies covering every aspect of running the business and how to handle coporate giving and receiving. Whether the giver appreciates any closely governed compay policy is another matter. Some smaller company bosses will want to impress the movers and shakers at another company, preferably their most reliable supplier or, even better, customer, but the person charged with acquiring the gifts goes full steam ahead buying up things they’d like to receive themselves, quite oblivious of the receiving company having any policy in not accepting certain products or types of gift. It may be that their gifting policy rules out anything that is not made ethically, or has been manufactured or sourced from a country they don’t wish to deal with etc. There are all sorts of possible issues here.
The best way to get a reputation as being a generous and throughful gifter, be that personal or corporate, is to check with the recipient well beforehand whether they have any likes or dislikes in relation to gifting, particularly with respect to other cultures, beliefs and desire to save the planet, howsoever achieved.