Worksheet: Prepare the next terms round on facts

If the retailer opens the round and you defend, terms only go up. This sheet builds the fact base for your biggest account before the round starts. It then writes your objectives, what you can trade and where you walk away. It builds the Competent step of the check:

A fact base for each major account (our economics, their economics, category performance, the competitors' position) sets objectives, tradeables and a walk-away before the first meeting.

Step 1. The fact base

Item	This account	Our other accounts	Source
Our economics
Gross sales, last 12 months ($)
Trade-spend rate (%)
Contribution after trade spend and cost to serve ($)
Their economics
Their margin on our range (%)
Their margin on the competitors' ranges (%)
Our rate of sale against the category average
Category performance
Category growth in this account (%)
Our share in this account against our share elsewhere
The competitors' position
Their promotion depth and frequency in this account

Step 2. Objectives and the walk-away

Issue	Our opening	Our target	Our walk-away	Their likely ask
e.g. Total terms rate	Hold at 24%	24%, with 1 point moved to active terms	25%, all new money conditional	27%

Step 3. What we can trade

We can give	What it costs us ($)	What it is worth to them	Only in return for
e.g. One extra catalogue feature	$60,000	Traffic in a slow week	A second facing on the hero pack for 26 weeks

Step 4. If there is no deal

The volume at risk, and for how long we can carry the loss.
Which other accounts could take part of it.
Who on our side can approve going past the walk-away. Name one person.

Step 5. Grocery Code rights

This applies if the account is one of the four large grocery businesses covered by the mandatory Food and Grocery Code. These are plain summaries. Ask a lawyer before you rely on any of them.

Right	What to check before the round
Written agreement	The terms you agree go into the written supply agreement
Good faith	The retailer must deal with you in good faith
Delisting	A delisting needs notice and reasons, and you can ask for a review
Disputes	Mediation and arbitration are open to you
Code Supervisor	You can raise concerns confidentially, including through the supervisor's survey

Step 6. After the round

Issue	Target	Outcome	Gap	What we do differently next time

Done when: your biggest account has a written fact base, objectives, tradeables and a walk-away, all agreed before the first meeting of the round.

Adapted from our own retailer negotiation support (PSP, 2007).