December 3, 2024
Leveraging Negotiation Science and Digital Transformation to Enhance Vendor Management Strategy

Executive Summary:

With the rapid pace of digital transformation and omnichannel communication reshaping the supply chain landscape, sourcing teams have more access to data and automation capabilities than ever before.

However, to yield the full power of supply chain digital transformation, mastery of negotiation science is an oft overlooked tool that can drastically enhance external sourcing efforts.Leveraging supply chain digital transformation to enhance negotiation and contracting strategies allows firms to repeatedly promote innovation, sustainability, security, and bottom line margin improvement. While the core principles governing behavioral and negotiation science have remained consistent for decades, digital transformation has unlocked new opportunities to enhance supplier negotiations at scale. Moving forward, the best organizations will align the core aspects governing negotiation (data analytics, supplier intelligence, process flow) to drive consistent margin growth, aiding supply chain’s transition to an ROI generating asset.

In this Masterclass, we’ll delve both into the theory that governs negotiation science as well as tools and analytics that can be seamlessly integrated into current workflows to ensure practical application. We will discuss a number of key behavioral science principles and introduce proven strategies that can be utilized to systematically enhance the vendor management ecosystem.

The program includes a combination of theory, real-world application, practical examples from Fortune 500 and private engagements, and breakout activities to strike the appropriate balance between negotiation science and implementation.

What You Will Learn?:

  • Understand the core behavioral science and economic concepts that govern successful vendor negotiations
  • Understand process and tools that can be leveraged to systematically enhance vendor management strategy
  • Learn how to utilize real-time analytics to uncover negotiating leverage
  • Understand how to strategically set contract terms through advanced concepts such as power dynamics and coalition
  • Enhance your capability to audit your team and streamline preparation ahead of critical negotiations

Who Should Attend?:

  • Senior executives who want to better understand how to leverage data to optimize vendor relationships and agreements
  • Supply chain leaders who want to gain a systematic approach to enhancing the negotiation acumen of their team


Why Choose Our Workshop?:

  • Learn a practical and systematic approach to optimizing negotiations, beyond commonly known strategies less applicable to the B2B landscape
  • Led by ex-energy executives with extensive consulting experience leading and advising on both sides of vendor negotiations for Fortune 500 and private enterprises
     

Workshop Agenda:

9:00 AM - 9:30 AM: Registration and Welcome Coffee

9:30 AM - 10:00 AM: Opening Session: Behavioral Science Theory Governing Best Practices in B2B Negotiation & Influence
●    Overview of key behavioral science research and concepts governing negotiations, influence and disputes
●    Proven strategies to enhance negotiation and influence outcomes
●    Introduction to behavioral science-based framework for optimizing vendor negotiations

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM: Session 1- Analytical Application of Negotiation Science
●    Uncovering hidden leverage through spend analytics, vendor intelligence, and effective storytelling
●    Utilizing a probabilistic assessment of supplier BATNA to inform negotiation goals
●    Multi-party sourcing - when to leverage and when to avoid
●    Shifting to a dynamic assessment to inform contracting and precedent-forming efforts

11:00 AM - 11:15 AM: Coffee Break

11:15 AM - 12:00 PM: Session 2 - Practical Approach to Vendor Negotiations
●    Considerations and strategies to enhance RFP process
●    Application of estimation, storytelling and framing to elevate negotiation positioning
●    Leveraging a multiple offer construction to enhance negotiated outcomes

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM: Networking Lunch

1:00 PM - 1:45 PM: Session 3- Controlling the Narrative and Accelerating Time to Agreement
●    Utilizing counter-proposal presentation to uncovering critical information
●    Strategies to effectively re-anchor and accelerate time to close
●    Benefits of maintaining an ‘integrative’ focus throughout the negotiation

1:45 PM - 2:30 PM: Session 4 - Advanced Closing Tactics to Optimize Outcomes
●    Concession planning as a relationship enhancing strategy
●    Utilizing game theory practices to guide negotiation to desired outcome
●    Power of contingent agreements & bucket issues to break impasse

2:30 PM - 2:45 PM: Coffee Break
 
2:45 PM - 3:30 PM: Session 5 - Incorporating Negotiation Science Into Your Sourcing & Vendor Management Workflow
●    Gleaning negotiation leverage from spend analytics trends
●    Inflection points to naturally prompt contracting/re-negotiation efforts
●    Vendor classification to prioritize efforts & dictate vendor assessment practices
●    Incorporating probabilistic BATNA evaluation into existing vendor network
●    Case studies: Real-world applications and outcomes in the energy sector

3:30 PM - 3:40 PM: Conclusion and Final Q&A

Workshop Facilitator

 

 

Keith Myers
Managing Partner
Mainline Ventures