Use cases by role
Negotiating with the history in front of you
What changes a contract renewal: not the market price, but what happened this year.
Most renewals are negotiated with two data points: last year's price and a general feeling about whether the supplier is doing well. That feeling is usually dominated by the most recent event, which rarely represents the year.
What to bring
| Data | What it lets you say |
|---|---|
| The year's incidents, dated | "Three delays in August", not "you're unreliable" |
| Documentary response time | If they have to be chased, it costs you |
| How often an exception was granted | What you let through, which counts too |
| And what went well | It gives you something to ask for, not just complain about |
Important
The fourth changes the tone of the whole conversation. A negotiation that only lists failures produces defensiveness; one that acknowledges what worked and names two specific things gets commitments that hold.
How to prepare in twenty minutes
- 1
Open the supplier's file and look at the year
Not your memory of the last two months.
- 2
Count, do not judge
"Four late deliveries out of thirty-six" is a fact; "you're unreliable" is a debatable opinion.
- 3
Pick two things you want changed
Two. Nobody commits to five.
- 4
And decide what you offer in exchange
Volume, payment terms, exclusivity. Without that it is a complaint, not a negotiation.
Watch out
Beware recency bias. If there was a serious problem three weeks ago, it will dominate the meeting even if the rest of the year was flawless. Looking at the whole year is precisely what stops you renegotiating badly over one case.
What the supplier should also be able to show
If both sides have that data, the conversation is much shorter and considerably fairer. And if only one side has it, that side negotiates better.
Worth knowing
Recording incidents in the supplier's file when they happen takes a minute and is the only thing that makes this preparation possible. Reconstructing them in December from email is not.
›What if they are a sole supplier?
The history still helps: not to switch, but to agree how you work together.
›Should the data be shown to them?
Almost always yes: it turns an argument about perceptions into one about facts.
›How often should suppliers be reviewed?
At renewal, and mid-year for the critical ones.
A real case
The situation
A buyer enters a renewal convinced the supplier is failing, based on a recent incident.
What you do
- Looks at the full year: four incidents in thirty-six deliveries
- Asks for two specific changes and offers payment terms
What you get
Closes the renewal with concrete commitments instead of an argument about perceptions.
The situation
Negotiation happens without knowing how often the supplier failed.
What you do
- Checks their history before the meeting
What you get
The conversation happens with data.
The situation
The supplier claims they always deliver on time.
What you do
- Shows the delivery history
What you get
The argument closes by looking.
The situation
Two suppliers are compared by eye.
What you do
- Checks both histories
What you get
The comparison is honest.
The situation
A contract is renewed without reviewing the year.
What you do
- Reviews the history before renewing
What you get
Renewal is decided on a basis.
The situation
The supplier asks for a price rise without justification.
What you do
- Cross-checks against what was delivered and missed
What you get
The negotiation starts from facts.
This article answers
- preparing a supplier negotiation
- data for a contract renewal
- evaluating a supplier with data
- arguments for price negotiation