7 Steps to Travel Success: Vendor Negotiations

One of the top priorities for any business is to reduce costs whilst still giving their employees a great work experience. With travel and expense being the second largest spend on average after payroll, isn’t it time you discovered how to get the most from your suppliers?

In the second webinar of the 7 Steps to Travel Success webinar series, Ian Davies, Head of Supplier Management at SAP Concur and Mark Bevan, Head of Strategic Partnerships, Business Travel Direct, discuss the key areas around vendor negotiations.

The 4 key points identified in a supplier lifecycle were:

Preparation

Ensuring that you have clear objectives in line with your business needs ahead of thinking what the vendor will be wanting to get from you. These need to be objectives that can be clearly actioned and are in line with your business’s key goals, whether that’s reduce cost or control the amount of end suppliers you have.

Negotiation

The next stage is the actual negotiation phase. You want to be realistic with the vendor and enter discussions with the objectives you identified in the preparation phase. Having honest timelines in place for when you want to achieve your goals keeps you and your supplier on the right path and closely aligned. Also, choose your language carefully and don’t let it undermine your position. Words such as “hopefully” can leave you in a weakened position.  

Contracting

Once all terms have been agreed, contracts need to be drawn up. Making sure you understand internal approval and use legal resources effectively can help streamline this stage and avoid any major setbacks.

Ongoing management

Finally, and probably the most overlooked stage, is ongoing management. After contract signing, implementation is key, making sure all negotiated rates are uploaded correctly and efficiently into your booking tool systems. Furthermore, ensuring that you are consistently reviewing your data to understand how you’re performing which will in turn help in preparing for any future negotiations.   

You can listen to the full recording of the webinar on demand here.