Negotiation is a process through which each party tries to achieve their goals in the context of the relationship with the other party. In procurement, the other party may be a long-term supplier or a one-time supplier, and our approach may be different in each case. However, in every negotiation we need to be clear about our objectives, and decide how we plan to achieve our goals. For example, ‘win:win’ negotiations may be appropriate in some circumstances, and we may plan to share value with the other party, perhaps through the exchange of concessions or trading negotiable variables. In other situations we may have no remit for the relationship with the other party and plan to claim value for us, by using facts and reason, without helping the other party ‘win’. The common elements are clear objectives – the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ – how we plan to persuade the other party, which needs to be consistent with the relationship that we want to create. See also Persuasion and Win:Win.
Negotiation Essentials and Advanced Negotiation training is available at Academy of Procurement.
« Back to Glossary Index
