PROCUREMENT
NEGOTIATION
TRAINING

Cut Costs. Reduce Risk. Improve Relationships.

Now, that’s delivering real value. Most procurement teams negotiate from intuition. The best negotiate from a proven system. RED BEAR’s training transforms how your team approaches every supplier negotiation—with repeatable tools, clear strategy, and guaranteed ROI.

Book a Consultation

THE IMPACT OF INNEFFECTIVE SUPPLIER NEGOTIATIONS

1% = 4% = 100%

Nearly 70% of a typical company’s revenue goes back out the door to its suppliers. A 1% reduction in those costs can increase profits by more than 4%. Every dollar saved in supplier negotiations falls 100% to the corporate bottom line.

YOU'RE IN GOOD COMPANY. THE BEST LEARN TO NEGOTIATE RIGHT HERE.

Join the ranks of globally recognized companies that have turned RED BEAR’s methodology into their secret weapon.

Your Procurement Function Can’t Afford Bad Negotiation

 

70% of company revenue goes straight to suppliers. The question isn’t if your team is leaking value—it’s where. 

Even strong procurement teams fall into Bear Traps like:

Focusing Only on Internal Needs

 

Leading with "what we want" instead of uncovering what suppliers can offer limits creativity—and value.

Overplaying Power

 

Backfires, especially in critical or capacity-constrained categories.

Failing to Ask Strategic Questions

 

Misses leverage points and opportunities to unlock supplier value.

Over-Indexing On Price

 

Undermines innovation, supplier quality, and ESG performance.

Treating Negotiations As One-Offs

 

Prevents scalable, category-wide improvements.


Skipping Preparation

 

Creates internal misalignment across finance, legal, and ops.

The business cost?

 

➤ Out-of-control spend

➤ Weak supplier performance

➤ Missed KPIs

➤ Limited credibility with finance and the C-suite

RED BEAR’s training gives your team a repeatable system to reduce risk, protect margins, and drive better outcomes in every negotiation.

 

Book a Consultation

Recommended Reading

 

Discover how leading companies are driving profit growth with smarter procurement strategies.

Key Insights You'll Learn:

➤ Immediate profit impact - Every 1% reduction in supplier costs increases profits by more than 4%

➤ Bottom-line benefits - Every penny saved in negotiations flows directly to your corporate profits

➤  Strategic consolidation - Drive significant savings by streamlining your supplier relationships

➤  Beyond price reduction - Leverage supplier expertise to solve complex business challenges

➤ Start turning every negotiation into a win for profit and relationships

 

Download the White Paper

Supplier Negotiations An Opportunity to Improve Profits_cover

Procurement Pro

NEGOTIATE LIKE THE PROCUREMENT PRO YOU ARE

Welcome to our Negotiating With Suppliers™(NWS) training—the playbook for how procurement gets done. It provides the skills, tools, and behaviors buyers need to craft profitable, value-based agreements with suppliers.

Get ready to…

  • - Manage costs with strategic levers
  • - Lead negotiations across internal and external stakeholders
  • - Improve spend metrics and risk profiles
  • - Elevate procurement’s role as a value-driving function

THE NEGOTIATING WITH SUPPLIERS™ JOURNEY

Our three-part training journey builds from fundamentals to mastery—so your team’s growth is continuous, measurable, and real.

NWS 1
Foundation of Strategic Supplier Negotiation

 

This is where world-class supplier negotiations begin.

From price pressure to internal friction, your team learns how to lead negotiations that reduce cost, protect value, and strengthen supplier partnerships.

Here’s what they’ll walk away with after Negotiating With Suppliers™ (NWS):

Negotiation Training - strategic negotiation

A Proven Planning System

Learn how to map out a negotiation before it begins—players, power, pressure points, and more—using RED BEAR’s strategic planning tool.

Six Core Negotiation Principles

Simple, powerful ideas rooted in Stanford research that guide how procurement professionals prepare, communicate, and respond under pressure.

Real-World Practice Through Simulation

Your team applies the RED BEAR methodology in a series of live negotiation simulations—building muscle memory through hands-on repetition.

Techniques to Uncover and Leverage Supplier Needs

Learn how to manage information skillfully, ask smarter questions, and get beyond the surface to uncover what suppliers really need.

Smarter Concession Strategies

Understand when and how to concede—without giving away value or weakening your position.

Tension Management Skills

Learn how to harness the natural tension of negotiation to drive better results—not defuse it or back away from it.

NWS 2: 6-9 months later, you'll be ready for:
Advanced Supplier Negotiation

 

Negotiating With Suppliers™ 2 (NWS2) is an advanced, hands-on workshop designed for NWS1 graduates ready to elevate their supplier negotiations even further.

Through immersive simulations, real-world application, and dynamic group work, your team sharpens key skills and builds new ones to navigate tough conversations—internally and externally.

By the end of the workshop, your procurement professionals will:

Negotiation Training - conflict management

Deepen their mastery of RED BEAR's core principles and behaviors

Apply foundational concepts with more precision, confidence, and control.

Strengthen positioning and value communication

Learn how to articulate high aspirations and negotiate from strength—even in challenging supplier dynamics.

Build better partnerships—inside and out

Use RED BEAR’s Partnership Principles to improve collaboration, surface creative solutions, and align faster.

Work more effectively across functions

Gain tools for negotiating with internal stakeholders who have competing goals, deadlines, or decision styles.

Practice with real challenges

Apply skills to the “tough stuff”—live issues your team is actually facing—with expert coaching and feedback.

NWS 3: 6-9 months later, you'll be ready for:
Mastery In Supplier Negotiation

 

Turn proven skills into negotiation mastery.

Negotiating With Suppliers™ 3 (NWS3) is a highly customized, two-day capstone experience for NWS1 and NWS2 graduates. It’s built for procurement professionals who are ready to refine their expertise and apply RED BEAR’s system to high-stakes, cross-cultural, and complex supplier negotiations.

This isn’t a refresher. It’s a mastery lab.

By the end of the workshop, your team will:

Negotiation Training - Feedback

Reinforce and sharpen RED BEAR fundamentals

Practice the most critical concepts from NWS1 and NWS2 in live, tailored simulations.

Cross-Cultural Negotiation Understanding

Apply strategic negotiation behaviors to challenging cases your team is facing now.

Master cross-cultural negotiations

Learn to recognize—and overcome—the unconscious behaviors that derail global deals.

Exchange best practices across the team

Share internal sourcing wins, surface insights, and standardize high-performance habits.

Leave with an action-ready negotiation plan

Build a go-forward strategy with personalized feedback from expert facilitators.

People Really Love It Around Here

Enterprise procurement professionals from across the globe agree…this training hits different. 

 

 

 

 

"It was eye-opening… I was not expecting to learn new negotiation skills after 30 years as a buyer or commodity manager."

— Barrie, Strategic Category Manager

 

 

 

 

"Excellent. I have been in supply chain over 30 years and have gone through several training programs—this one has been by far the best."

— Andy, Supply Chain Manager

 

 

"Outstanding experience! The content was not only highly relevant but also engaging and thought-provoking… This course exceeded my expectations, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to enhance their skills in this area."

— Chris, Director, European Logistics

 

 

"Incredibly valuable training. I’m fascinated by these learnings… I’m confident it will help me make an impact on hospital efforts as I continue to grow into my role."

— Matt, VP Finance

RETENTION SUPER GLUE

We’ve all experienced “training amnesia,” where you forget what you learned and revert to your old ways as soon as you return to your routine. 

 

We’re not about that here. 

 

That’s why we created  100 minutes™ to Improved Negotiation Results—a complimentary reinforcement program following each of our core training offerings.

 

This isn’t your run-of-the-mill reinforcement program; it’s a 360 experience designed for participants and managers to ensure the learnings stick.

 

For Participants

➤ Weekly emails that showcase one key concept from the program. 
➤ Guided questions for active learning and concept application 

For Managers

➤ Weekly emails that showcase one key concept from the program. 
➤ Tailored smart coaching questions to use in 1:1s or team meetings to reinforce learnings
business-meeting

PROCUREMENT LEADERS, TURN KNOWLEDGE INTO COST SAVINGS

 

Managers are the bridge between training and transformation. Let's make it count.

RED BEAR's Coaching and Reinforcement Workshop™ helps procurement leaders embed negotiation best practices into day-to-day operations. 

What procurement leaders walk away with in just four hours:

  • - A plug and play coaching model tailored to procurement teams

  • - Templates for impactful 1:1s and team recaps after supplier negotiations

  • - Self-assessment tool to spark reflection and fuel growth

  • - Practical planning tools to build negotiation muscle across the team

The result? Consistent application, better terms, and higher-performing teams.

Training That Meets You Where You Are

We deliver high-impact sessions for global procurement teams—virtually, in-person, or hybrid.

 

Every training includes:

➤  Instructor-led

➤  Discovery-based

➤  Hands-on exercises

➤  Role plays and simulations

 

That’s non-negotiable.

procurement-negotiations-effective-training

HOW PROCUREMENT NEGOTIATION TRAINING WORKS

A Proven Framework.
A Practical System. Built for Real-World Deals.

We don’t teach tips and tricks. We train your team in a complete negotiation system—grounded in research, proven in global procurement organizations, and customized to your unique sourcing challenges.

At the heart of our Negotiating With Suppliers™ program is a set of core process, skills, tools, and behaviors that bring consistency and confidence to every supplier conversation.

The Methodology

Built on research from Stanford University and tested across every major industry, our approach combines behavioral psychology, strategic thinking, and real-world procurement dynamics.

It’s not theory for theory’s sake. It’s a process your team can apply the very next day.

WHAT YOUR TEAM WILL MASTER

toolbox icon1

The Six RED BEAR Negotiation Principles

Simple, powerful concepts that guide decision-making before, during, and after every negotiation.

tool box icon4

The RED BEAR Model

A step-by-step framework to approach any negotiation—whether you’re buying packaging or managing a complex global supplier.

tool box icon2

The Strategic Planning Tool

An intuitive, flexible worksheet that helps your team prep quickly, align cross-functionally, and walk in with a plan.

tool box icon3

The Five Core Behaviors of Successful Negotiators

These are the difference-makers—mindsets and actions that shift negotiation outcomes and supplier dynamics.

THE RESULT?

Procurement professionals who are prepared, principled, and powerful in every negotiation they lead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Still have questions about negotiation consulting? We've got answers.

Does RED BEAR offer procurement negotiation training?
Yes. RED BEAR specializes in procurement-specific negotiation training for global sourcing, supplier management, and vendor compliance teams. Our content is tailored to the realities of buying, including cost management, supplier alignment, and contract optimization,  not just selling.
Is this just for procurement teams? Or sales too?

RED BEAR’s procurement negotiation training delivers measurable impact by combining proven processes with real-world buyer scenarios. Key strengths include:

  • - Repeatable negotiation framework that drives supplier alignment and value creation
  • - Customized buyer-side simulations tailored to your categories and supply chain
  • - Behavioral tools that improve supplier collaboration and reduce conflict
  • - In-house procurement expertise to align with sourcing and compliance needs
  • - ROI tracking to prove cost savings and business impact
Is RED BEAR’s procurement negotiation training customizable?
Yes. Every procurement workshop begins with a Strategic Alignment session to tailor content to your supply chain, sourcing processes, category strategies, and supplier challenges. This ensures all scenarios and tools are directly relevant to your team’s real negotiations.
How does RED BEAR measure success in procurement negotiation training?
We track success through independent ROI analysis and participant feedback. Our process measures improvements in cost savings, supplier relationships, contract terms, and overall business outcomes, giving procurement leaders clear proof of training impact.
Does RED BEAR support global procurement training rollouts?
Yes. RED BEAR delivers procurement negotiation training worldwide, in 14 languages, using region-specific expert instructors. This ensures your teams receive culturally relevant training that aligns with local business practices while maintaining consistent global standards.
What post-training tools does RED BEAR offer for procurement teams?

To ensure lasting results, we provide:

  • - Coaching & Reinforcement Workshop (CRW): A follow-up program for procurement leaders to coach their teams in live supplier negotiations
  • - 100 Minutes to Improved Results: A 10-week reinforcement program with weekly activities to keep skills sharp
  • - Manager coaching toolkit: Practical resources to guide ongoing development and application of RED BEAR principles

 

These tools help procurement teams consistently apply best practices and deliver measurable business impact long after the workshop ends.

What is RED BEAR’s 10x Performance Guarantee for procurement training?

At the end of any procurement negotiation training session, if a participant does not believe they will achieve at least 10 times the return on their training investment, RED BEAR will not invoice for that individual. This guarantee reflects our commitment to measurable cost savings, stronger supplier relationships, and lasting business impact.

Is RED BEAR’s procurement negotiation training aligned with our processes?

Yes. RED BEAR works with your team to integrate our negotiation planning model into your existing procurement frameworks. This approach improves efficiency, strengthens supplier engagement, and ensures your teams can apply best practices within the tools and workflows they already use.

WHY RED BEAR WORKS WHEN OTHERS DON'T

 

We’re not just another vendor. We’re your strategic partner.

RED BEAR is the only negotiation training firm that combines:

➤ Behavioral science that changes how your team thinks, not just what they say

➤ Procurement and sales domain expertise that maps directly to your team’s goals

➤ Enterprise-level delivery that scales across categories and regions

➤ Hard ROI guarantees that prove our impact

 

 

 

 

Results, Guarenteed

We back up our claims with real accountability—on both sides of the table.

Our Promise: 10x ROI or your money back


Your Proof: Independent ROI study conducted post-training


Client Voice:
“We’ve seen millions in measurable cost savings since implementing RED BEAR’s process. This training gave our team a common language and strategy across all categories.”

 – VP of Global Sourcing

Getting The Team Together? Do It Right.

With a session that will provide meaningful ROI right away. 

We’ve got you. 

Learn about our accelerated, 3-hour negotiation workshop for procurement professionals. Perfect for your next team meeting. 

Get In Touch

Insights for Strategic Procurement Leaders

17 July 2025

How To Satisfy Needs Over Wants For Negotiation Success

In high-stakes commercial negotiations, surface-level demands often mask deeper business imperatives. A procurement lead may ask for a 15% price re...

Read More
16 July 2025

Tips To Make The Most Of Time Pressure in Negotiations

Tick, tock. 

The ultimate sound of any negotiation? 

Time pressure. 

Whether it's the ticking countd...

Read More
15 July 2025

6 Costly Negotiation Leverage Mistakes Procurement Teams Must Avoid

To the untrained eye, leverage can appear fickle—one moment it’s there, and the next, it’s gone.

But negotiation leverage isn’t j...

Read More