Leading computer hardware manufacturer.

Although the client had a track record of negotiating profitable agreements with vendors, significant challenges stood in the way of continued success:

• Increased reliance on a smaller number of strategic suppliers.
• Continual pressure to complete critical supplier negotiations in less time.
• The need to ensure continuous, high-quality, cost-effective supply of parts and services in an environment of rapid company growth.
• Pressure to maintain and improve quality and responsiveness from suppliers, even as the company was putting pressure on supplier margins through negotiated price reductions.
• Difficulty balancing the competitive need to get the best price with the collaborative need to motivate suppliers to perform above expectations, share potential supply problems before they create production delays, and partner on technological innovations.
• Cross-cultural communication barriers.
• Difficulty coordinating negotiation strategy between purchasing professionals and their "internal customers."

BayGroup International identified a number of critical negotiation mistakes which were eroding profitability and weakening supplier relationships. These included:

• Failure to plan effectively for supplier negotiations…individually, and as a team.
• Inability to uncover key information about supplier cost structures and needs, and to use it for improved negotiating results.
• Sharing too much data, including information which weakened the company's negotiating position.
• Poor coordination of negotiation strategy with "internal customers" who also interact with suppliers.

BayGroup International's solution included:

• Extensive data collection with senior managers and members of the purchasing team.
• Analysis of past supplier negotiation experiences, identification of negotiation challenges and mistakes, and development of a behavior change initiative to address them.
• Selection and briefing of a BayGroup International instructor team, responsible for delivering tailored, company-focused supplier negotiation training.
• An overview program for senior purchasing executives to orient them to key concepts from the workshop, and to encourage them to coach their people to use new negotiation skills on the job.
• Implementation of Negotiating With Suppliers™ workshops for 88 senior purchasing managers, quality engineers, supply chain managers, and other purchasing team members. Based on results from this first group, the implementation was expanded to more than 200 purchasing professionals worldwide.
• Follow-up workshops to reinforce key concepts and discuss skill application to actual negotiations.
• Management initiatives to support successful use of new skills. For example, purchasing managers must now complete a Negotiation Planner on any negotiation larger than $100,000.

Shortly after training the client conducted its own study to assess the results of this initiative. Graduates of Negotiating With Suppliers™ completed a survey which gathered data on use of the skills and tools taught in the course, and specific examples of post-course negotiation "wins." In addition to significant measured improvement in negotiation skills and confidence, the client identified the following results:

• Three out of five graduates had already used the negotiation planning tools back on the job.
• The bottom-line contribution from better negotiation, using skills and tools from the program, totaled over $1.5 million.
• The return on investment for the initiative was over 400% within the first 90 days.
• Survey respondents also described numerous intangible benefits of better negotiation, including: better pre-negotiation planning, higher supplier quality targets, and improved supplier selection.

"From a personal and professional level perspective, this course really hit the spot."

"A very informative, interactive, and dynamic class."