Strive for people's respect, not their affection.
When people hear that I've been assigned to a project I want their first reaction to be "OK, that one is in good hands." Not, "Oh, she's such a nice person."
That's my guiding principle whenever I realize I'm about to send one of those "fire-in-the-hole" emails. You might risk ticking someone off but if it's the best thing for your project, your customer or your company, you have to do it. If your supplier is impacting your ability to deliver to your customer you have to fix it.
Some people are master diplomats and can deliver the most unpleasant message in a way that doesn't even hurt. Most of us can pull that off sometimes but not all the time. And if your counterpart is a true professional they'll understand why you did what you did, and they'll know that if they were in your position they would have done the same thing. And they'll respect you for it.
And if they hear you've been assigned to their project, they'll be relieved that it's in good hands.
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