Negotiating Partnerships: Increase profits and reduce risks

Time

Time is one of the critical factors in an agreement. The time most frequently discussed is the time of delivery; how much would earlier delivery cost, how much would we earn by getting started ahead of schedule, what is the cost involved in a delay, and what can we earn if we do not have to accelerate the project? But there are other time aspects for which it is more usual to simply follow established practice rather than taking an unbiased look at different alternatives:

• duration of the agreement;

• the agreement start and expiry dates;

• period of notice;

• winding-up period;

• period of suborders.

Most frame-work and co-operation agreements run for a year, Why? Companies report their results every year, budgets look ahead for a year, there are 12 ...