Strategic Procurement Negotiation

Abstract

The challenges facing procurement managers across industries and public services are quite important. Businesses need to take care of the bottom line while public services need to manage tight budgets. This is aggravated by difficult economic environments such as the one that has come with COVID-19. Reducing procurement costs means less funds and working capital. Such is achieved by means of adequate negotiation processes. Technology procurement is a field with long acquisition lifecycles, where negotiations span over considerable periods of time, and where the features of technology may impact negotiations, including the technology inherent obsolescence speed. Such negotiations occur in an environment where demanding technical requirements abound alongside economic rationality and where negotiations are conducted by teams of managers and engineers, addressing the distinct dimensions. An approach to technology procurement negotiation is presented with viewpoints for reflection on how procurement and negotiations shall be addressed for technology procurement purposes.