Unlike peanut butter and jelly, equipment purchase and service quotes aren’t necessarily better together. Suppliers are masterful at packaging product and service quotes to create the “illusion of savings” and to make you feel like you’re getting the best overall value. But when equipment purchase quotes and service quotes are stuck together, it can make it hard to know if you’re truly getting a good price. Don’t let this “illusion of savings” keep your hospital from getting the most savings. Insist that your suppliers always quote purchase price and service costs separately so you can evaluate them independently. Then, when you are ready, you can combine them together if this enables the supplier to provide even greater value on the bundled purchase. This will allow you to enjoy the most savings – kind of like a good PB&J sandwich.