  A simple relation between inhomogeneous transfer matrices and boundary
quantum KZ equations is exhibited for quantum integrable systems with
reflecting boundary conditions, analogous to an observation by Gaudin for
periodic systems. Thus the boundary quantum KZ equations receive a new
motivation. We also derive the commutativity of Sklyanin's boundary transfer
matrices by merely imposing appropriate reflection equations, i.e. without
using the conditions of crossing symmetry and unitarity of the R-matrix.
