Procurement: Supplier Negotiation Skills (PowerPoint PPTX Slide Deck)

Small & medium size businesses and manufacturing companies deal with scores of external suppliers of goods & services. These dealings require some level of negotiations with goods & services suppliers, major OEM corporations, and software solution providers. While business negotiation skill is a core competency for the purchasing professionals, an SMB often does not have the same level of expertise available to them as most major suppliers, OEMs, and software solution vendors have within their organizations. Inexperienced negotiators can quickly become outmaneuvered by the more experienced negotiators from the suppliers' side, unless they are equally skillful in the art of negotiations.

The material presented here will improve your ability to explore and influence positions and alternatives to reach mutually beneficial outcomes that will gain acceptance by the other party and will also meet your organization's strategic objectives. You will learn how to respond to suppliers' price increase demands and how to negotiate from position of weakness when faced with "sole source" suppliers. You will learn how to explore and reach agreements with suppliers that will meet their needs, as well as help them understand your interests and satisfy your organizational goals. You will discover that you are far more likely to find agreeable suppliers for joint decision making, innovation, and competitive advantage if you can offer something that is important to them.

You will learn that the goal of business negotiations is not to beat the other guy senseless, rob them tactfully, or wring the last dime out of their profits. Business negotiations should be conducted, rather, in a win-win spirit aimed at benefiting both parties, while nurturing lasting business relationships. In other words, you will learn what is called "principled negotiations," a hallmark of savvy and sophisticated business professionals.

The PPT emphasizes the importance of preparation, highlighting that negotiation is 80% preparation and 20% negotiating. It also covers various types of negotiation strategies, including distributive and collaborative approaches, to suit different scenarios.