re: Any buyers/purchasing agents here?

Get busy with Microsoft Excel if you are not yet fluent. It can help you solve complex algebraic questions when buying or evaluating goods or services. I've got Excel spreadsheets (autocorrect originally changed it to "spearhead sheets"???) for as many parts of my responsibilities as I can, purchasing being one of them.

PS: Please don't try to use spearhead sheets in lieu of spreadsheets.