There is no question that procurement organizations are masters at building strong relationships with vendors, pricing negotiation strategies, and recommended strong contracts for so many areas of the business. Yet, telecom is different. It has its own language – and that language changes with the speed of technology. As a result, pricing structures rapidly change, acceptable terms and conditions change, and even vendor representatives change – many times within the same procurement cycle. That brings to mind a very important question. How often do you negotiate with your telecom vendors? Annually? At the end of a services term? Even longer? Unfortunately, in such a volatile environment, the delay between contract cycles can significantly reduce the knowledge needed to engage in telecom contracting.
At the BAZ Group, our team negotiates daily with carriers from large to small. In fact, from the regional and local exchange carriers (LECs) to the largest in the industry, we have touchpoints throughout each carrier to ensure that we are connected with their technologies, understand how they operate and – more important – what they can offer to best serve our clients’ needs. As a result of this in-depth knowledge of the telecom marketplace and fact-based negotiation strategies, the BAZ Group is well-known by carriers and clients alike to be the strongest advocate in effectively positioning our clients to negotiate cost-effective rates that are coupled with advantageous contract terms.
Our Contract Strategy and Negotiation services include:
- Benchmarking & competitive positioning
- Benchmarking of rates and contract structures against various other favorable carrier offerings and agreements for similar sized organizations
- Determination of the best timing and positioning to achieve the most favorable competitive results (fiscal timing, project planning, licensing and terms)
Negotiation of favorable rates and terms
- Leveraging of benchmark rates and terms to achieve the most competitive outcome
- Negotiation of well-structured agreements with reasonable commitments and favorable client provisions
- Negotiation of contract terms that can significantly impact cost but are often not addressed