Role of Negotiation in Purchasing Material: A Case Study of Charles & Keith Wong, Singapore

This paper focuses on the purchasing negotiation process of one of the leading companies of Singapore, in the area of fast fashion goods and accessories. The major purpose of the paper was to explore the negotiation process of the company and determine the major issues that are preventing the organizations from achieving the maximum value of the purchases.

Role of negotiation in purchasing the material: A case study of Charles & Keith Wong,
Singapore

Contents
Abstract......................................................................................................................................4
Introduction................................................................................................................................5
Research Background.............................................................................................................5
Problem Identification............................................................................................................6
Research Purpose....................................................................................................................6
Research Questions................................................................................................................7
Research objectives................................................................................................................8
Literature Review.......................................................................................................................8
Concept of negotiation...........................................................................................................8
Role and importance of negotiation in growth of company.................................................10
Role of negotiation for organization.....................................................................................12
Strategies for negotiation process.........................................................................................13
Research Methods....................................................................................................................15
Research Approach...............................................................................................................15
Sampling strategy.................................................................................................................16
Data collection methods.......................................................................................................16
Data Analysis and Findings.....................................................................................................17
Implications and Conclusion....................................................................................................18
References................................................................................................................................20
Appendix..................................................................................................................................23
Interview questions...............................................................................................................23

Abstract
This paper focuses on the purchasing negotiation process of one of the leading companies of
Singapore, in the area of fast fashion goods and accessories. The major purpose of the paper
was to explore the negotiation process of the company and determine the major issues that
are preventing the organizations from achieving the maximum value of the purchases. In this
context, qualitative study was conducted with the help of interview and literature review. For
the interviews, 10 respondents from the purchasing department of Charles Wong and Keith
Wong were selected. The findings of the research indicate that the negotiation process is a
crucial process of the organization that affects the overall cost of the organization. Charles
Wong and Keith are facing the issue of high purchase prices, and shortage of raw material.
The paper recommends that the purchasing managers should focus on establishing clear
objectives, involving fewer suppliers in the negotiation process and establishing the clear
clauses and conditions for the suppliers. The findings of this research will help Charles Wong
and Keith and other organizations in improving their purchasing process.

Introduction
Research Background
This particular research focuses on one of the most important aspects associated with the
procurement in an organization – Negotiation. Procurement can be defined as the process or
action of obtaining or procuring something. Butter and Linse (2008) stated that suppliers can
be motivated to offer their best price with help of conversation and not competition. The
word “conversation” reflects the importance of negotiation in the procurement process.
Negotiation can be defined as the decision -making process between two parties that have
opposing interests. The negotiation process helps in dealing with the complex situation
during the process of procurement. The word ‘negotiation’ is originated from a Latin word
‘neg’ that means ‘no’ and ‘otsia’ that means ‘leisure’ that refers to the businessmen who had
no time for leisure. In the 17th century, the word ‘negotiation’ took a different meaning of a
dialogue between two or more parties or people who are intended to reach at a beneficial
outcome over an issue or issues in which conflict exists. In simple words, negotiation can be
defined as the process associated with combining the divergent positions into a joint
agreement with unanimity (Wertheim, 2018).
Negotiation is an important part of the purchasing process that is a sub part of procurement
process in an organization. Purchasing can be defined as an attempt of an organization or a
business to acquire various goods and services for achieving the organizational goals and
objectives. The negotiation covers the time period from the first communication between the
parties to the final step of contract signing. The purchasing professionals of the organization
should focus on obtaining the best prices for the supplies with the help of negotiation process.
In a broad sense, negotiation aims at achieving the maximum value of the money spent in the
purchasing process. In order to achieve the maximum value in purchasing process, the

purchasing professional should negotiate in the most effective manner (Kramer, 2009). This
particular research will focus on the role of the negotiation process, for the purpose of
purchasing materials for the company of Charles & Keith Wong based in Singapore.
Charles & Keith (styled CHARLES & KEITH) is one of the leading fast fashion brands of
Singapore. It offers the products under the categories of fast fashion accessories and
footwear. It was founded in the year 1996 by Charles Wong and Keith Wong. This brand has
its footprints across Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America (Charleskeith, 2018).
Problem Identification
In today’s highly dynamic and competitive environment, the process of negotiation has
become one of the ways for obtaining the maximum value (Borbely, 2016). A poor
negotiation in a business can destroy a company in terms of loss of customers and increased
cost. The economic pressures across the world are forcing the organizations to pressurize
their negotiators, to use the best negotiation practices so as to achieve the best prices for the
raw material and supplies procured from the wide range of suppliers (Hoezen & Volke,
2015). Organizations across the world including Charles & Keith Wong are in a weak
position in context of negotiating with suppliers and obtaining the best prices for the raw
material and other supplies. In this context, there is a need of some strategic approaches and
strategies that can be used for maintaining the relationships with suppliers along with
maximizing the overall value of the money spent in the purchasing process. The process of
negotiation involves a number of discussions and agreements on certain aspect (Rogers &
Fells, 2018).
Research Purpose
The overall purpose of this research is to determine the role and importance of negotiation in
the purchasing process of Charles & Keith Wong. The purchase of raw material and purchase
of supplies in the manufacturing process includes a number of issues such as the organization

do not get the best value of the money spent or the best prices in which they can purchase the
raw material (Ready & Tessema, 2011). In addition, there is also an issue associated with the
prolonged availability and supply of the raw material in a consistent manner. Apart from this,
there is an issue of shortage of raw material that can be solved with the help of an effective
negotiation process. The purpose of this research is to determine the role and importance of
negotiation process in the growth of Charles & Keith Wong along with helping the
organization in solving the issues associated with purchasing, with the help of negotiation. In
case of Charles & Keith, negotiation is one of the important concepts that have to be effective
especially during the purchase process. In this context, it is essential for Charles & Keith to
ensure that it has clearly defined conditions and clauses at the place so as to conduct the
purchasing process effectively with the help of negotiation.
Research Questions
This research has some research questions that will guide the research along with limiting the
scope of the research. These research questions are discussed below:
1. What are the major concepts related with negotiation?
2. What is the role of negotiation in the purchasing power of raw materials by the
company as well as the buyers?
3. What is the role and importance of negotiation in Charles and Keith Wong’s growth?
4. What strategies can be used in the negotiation process by Charles and Keith Wong?

Research objectives
This particular research aims at analyzing and identifying the role of negotiation in the
bargaining power of the buyers and suppliers in context of the goods manufactured by the
company Charles & Keith Wong, Singapore. The research objectives that will guide this
research in a particular direction are listed below:
 To define the concept of negotiation
 To determine the role of negotiation in the purchasing power of raw materials by the
company as well as the buyers
 To determine the strategies that can use in the negotiation process
 To determine the role and importance of negotiation in the company's growth
Literature Review
Concept of negotiation
Negotiation is considered as a method through which people settle their differences. By this
process, compromise or agreement is approached while arguments and disputes are avoided.
In case of any kind of differences, the individuals reasonably aim to achieve best possible
effect for their position within the organization. However, the principles of fairness,
maintaining the relationship and seeking mutual benefits are essential for successful
outcomes. There are various specific forms of negotiations that are utilized in various
situations i.e. for legal system, international affairs, government, industrial disputes or for
family relationships. However, there are various other common negotiation skills that could
be learnt and implemented in wide variety of activities (Ready & Tessema, 2011). The
negotiation skills could prove to be highly beneficial in resolution of various differences that
occur between people. For the purpose of achieving desirable outcomes, structured approach
is required.

The process of negotiation includes stages such as preparation, discussion, clarification of
goals, negotiation for win-win situation, agreement and implementation of a course of action
(SkillsYouNeed, 2018). On the other hand, if the process of negotiation does not succeed and
the agreement cannot be reached, the meeting could be rescheduled. There are various other
skills to make the negotiation possible such as mediation skills (Fells, 2009). There are three
elements that might affect the ultimate outcome of negotiation which are attitudes,
knowledge and interpersonal skills (SkillsYouNeed, 2018).
According to Thomas (2018), negotiation is a fundamental human action in which everyone
gets engaged. There is a highly familiar approach towards negotiation which is positional
wherein, both the parties take a certain conflicting position or relevant issues and attempts to
convince the other side to accept the preferred position of the persuader. Some people are
highly skilled in positional negotiation that they become able to achieve objectives by the use
of positional techniques. On the contrary, interest-based negotiators make every effort to turn
contentious, competitive positional bargaining sessions into mutual problem solving skills
wherein, negotiators make efforts to explore and identify creative ways to satisfy the interests
of each party. However, interest-based negotiations do not usually lead to mutual benefits;
they most probably like to achieve such gains as compared to positional negotiations
(Thomas, 2018).
According to Cheow (2016), the negotiation process requires exploration of what process
would best be suitable towards the goals for negotiation. It is essential to sit down with others
ready for negotiation, to explore and resolve the major questions that would determine that
process. The process of negotiation starts with questions but not with answers. The
negotiation might start process negotiations, to explore that negotiations are efficient and
assist both the parties to achieve what is desired. The process questions allow negotiators to
search for all the negotiation process. The initial focus on the process enables the negotiator

to anticipate and plan with unexpected and varying expectations from the other side of
negotiating party. The effective design of the negotiation process enables the negotiator to
form the process in a manner so as to obtain the desired results (Cheow, 2016).
Role and importance of negotiation in growth of company
Finkel (2018) has discussed different negotiating tactics that are highly important. It is
essential to get the negotiating goals clarified. There are three questions to be taken into
consideration that what could be the best possible outcomes, the bottom line as well as the
alternative plan. Another skill is to determine the core negotiation strategy that could move
the negotiator towards possible outcomes (Kumar & Worm, 2004). It is essential to
understand the negotiation tactic which would be best suitable in that particular situation.
Drawing out on why the other party prefers to make a deal by the process of asking questions
and developing negotiating roots. In the process of negotiation, one should play the role of a
reluctant party and the reluctance should be expressed through body language, voice and
expressions (Finkel, 2018). By mastering these negotiating skills, the business and the
individuals can resolve the issues and conflicts arising within the organizations with utmost
ease.
Negotiation is considered as essential in corporate sector to avoid the conflicts as well as to
improve the relations among the employees within the organizations. The style of negotiation
plays a significant role in corporate sector because it is important while dealing with the
dealers, customers or clients (Olekalns, Smith, & Walsh, 1996). Particularly, the people or
business persons who have to deal with external parties majorly, they should be a good
negotiator otherwise they might be disadvantageous to them. Learning to negotiate with the
superiors politely might protect one from getting into conflict and to attain win-win situation
for both the parties. In this way, conflicts must be avoided at the workplace because it only

leads to negativity and nothing else and negotiation is the best way possible. The occurrence
of conflicts due to rigid nature of the individuals or when they are not willing to compromise,
but negotiation could assist them in finding an alternative that could be beneficial for all the
concerned parties ( Management Study Guide, 2018). However, it requires good negotiation
skills to convince the people towards certain goal or motive.
It is a well-known fact that negotiation skills are considered as absolutely essential for
performing a business. The ability to negotiate is obviously important in meetings and
finalizing contracts, however, the benefits of negotiation could extend far beyond these uses.
The mind-set of negotiation is considered as beneficial for all from employees to clients to
management. The best negotiators are the ones who become able to generate win-win
situations wherein, all the concerning parties get equally benefited (Sally & O'Connor, 2004).
The motive of negotiation is to get the best possible deal for the organization but it requires
improvising the bottom line. The confidence is considered as important part of a negotiation
so it is essential to be confident while considering negotiations. Furthermore, it is also
important that the employees respect their seniors for the purpose of achieving the
productivity out of them. It is also essential that the individuals, retailers or the clients to
whom one is negotiating respect them and their decision as well for the success of the
negotiation. So, it is essential for the organization to have individuals in management who
possess excellent negotiating skills (Business Queensland, 2018). Therefore, good negotiating
skills contribute significantly to the success of the business, as it assist in developing better
relationships, delivering long-lasting and quality solutions, satisfying the needs of both the
parties as well as assist in avoiding future issues and conflicts (Business Queensland, 2018).

Role of negotiation for organization
According to the research conducted by Kharbanda & Stallworthy (1991), the negotiations
are conducted with customers, suppliers, trade unions, family and such others. In business,
the essential requirement of negotiation is management, however, there are eight stages in
negotiation which are prepare, discuss, indication, suggest, presenting package, bargain, close
and settle. During the proposal stage, it is essential to be clear about what to be achieved,
what is intended to achieve, what are the expectations to be achieved. The researchers
reviewed the approach towards competitive and constructive negotiation, role of consultation,
how to deal with deadlock and conflict, cross-cultural negotiation as well as the art of
compromising. After conducting the research, the researchers revealed that development and
utilization of teams in negotiation is also an important factor and it requires cautious
assessment of the situation (Kharbanda & Stallworthy, 1991). As per the researchers, most of
the times, negotiations involve conflict but initiatives to ensure friendly terms among the
negotiating parties can resolve the issues or conflict quite easily and effectively.
According to Zarei, Hassannejad & Ganjouei (2016), the conflict is considered as a major
behavioural barrier between individuals or groups. The managers who are aware about the
fundamental principles of conflict and negotiation can easily deal efficaciously with such
unavoidable situations arising within the organization. However, the research conducted by
the researchers aimed to describe the role of negotiation in the process of conflict
management, for which, the researchers applied analytical-correlation study upon the
participants. To achieve the purpose, the researchers utilized Robbins' Conflict Management
Questionnaire as well as PEER’s Negotiation Styles Questionnaire for the collection of the
data. The findings of the research revealed that there is a substantial relationship between the
negotiation styles as well as conflict management. However, the researchers found that there
was no relationship between the negotiation styles, in addition to the avoidance strategy, the

participants’ selected factual style and solution-oriented strategy for the purpose of
negotiations (Zarei, Hassannejad, & Ganjouei, 2016). The researchers determined that the
negotiation styles as well as conflict management strategies should be utilized taking into
consideration the state of the conflict or issue. After conducting the research, the researchers
suggested that the training courses could be conducted to increase the skills of the managers,
to allow them to manage the process of negotiation in an effective manner (Reif & Brodbeck,
2014).
According to Zohar (2015), leadership skills are required for negotiation during the crisis, in
order to attain a successful decision for a conflict or issue and are considered as critical in
global conflicts within the organization or external to it. The researcher discussed about the
most important question which was the skills essential for the purpose of leading the
procedure of effective negotiations. As per the researcher, the negotiation skills are essential
to achieve agreements in corporate or business sector. However, the prominent effective
negotiation is not restricted to the international settlements or disputes (Zohar, 2015). The
capability to negotiate is valued to the business managers as the skills developed through
practice of negotiation skills improve critical thinking aptitudes as well as effective
communication skills.
Strategies for negotiation process
According to Ademi (2016), negotiations are the ways through which conflicts and
differences could be resolved through direct communication between the concerning parties.
It is considered as an organized process through which concerning parties can get over their
differences and conflicts and can make efforts to reach an agreement about the solution that
could be acceptable to all the concerning parties. The fundamental significance of
negotiations is to get what one desires from others but with their mutual agreement. In this
research, the researcher has discussed about the principal aspects of negotiations as one of the

crucial business processes as well as an essential basis of reasonable benefit. The researcher
made efforts to exhibit how to behave during negotiations and the method of performance of
both the parties so as to achieve the objectives of the negotiation (Tsay & Bazerman, 2009).
Furthermore, the researcher provided the information about how to get familiar with the
negotiation skills; to reciprocally negotiate and to assist to achieve the understanding about
what happens during highly complex situations as compared to general issues and conflicts
(Ademi, 2016).
Lindholst (2014) stated that planning and preparation are considered as extremely essential to
make the negotiation effective. The research conducted by the researcher had focused on the
process of negotiation, however, not discussed much about the preparations to make before
meeting, for the process of negotiation. The research was basically aimed at redressing the
balance by clearly describing what planning and preparation activities should be taken into
consideration for the purpose of conducting the complex business negotiations as compared
to the suggestions provided through the review of literature. Contrary to majority of the
negotiation research studies, this study followed qualitative research design and the results of
the study revealed that significant number of activities as suggested through the review of
literature related to the planning and preparation of negotiation, do not actually occur
(Lindholst, 2014). Furthermore, the researcher also emphasized upon the inherent weaknesses
of relying upon the open-ended surveys as the only data or information source through which,
the internal phenomenon of the organization could be understood. In this manner, the
researcher revealed that the above mentioned strategies could be utilized for the process of
successful negotiations and one can achieve what is desired along with providing best
outcomes to all concerning parties.

Research Methods
The research methodology refers to the techniques and methods that are used in the research
for answering the research questions or achieving the objectives of the research. This section
of the research will provide a detailed view of the research approach, sampling strategy and
the data collection methods and tools that were used in this research. (Kumar, 2011)
Research Approach
The research approach can be defined as the procedure or plan that consists of a number of
steps related to data collection, analysis as well as the data interpretation. The research
approach can be divided into two major categories – qualitative research approach and
quantitative research approach. These research approaches are discussed below:
Qualitative research approach
Qualitative research can be defined as the research approach that uses scientific methods for
gathering the data that are particularly non- numerical in nature. Qualitative research refers to
the concepts, meaning, characteristics, definitions, symbols and description of the things
rather than their measures or counts. Qualitative research approach does not focus much on
the analytical techniques related to data interpretation. In other words, it can be indicated that
qualitative research follows an inductive approach that uses the secondary data for achieving
the research objectives. A qualitative approach has been chosen for this research as it will
help in providing a detailed insight of the role and importance of negotiation process along
with creating clear links with the overall objectives of the research. In addition, this research
approach has been chosen because it provides a strong theoretical foundation to the research.
(Pavan & Kulkarni, 2014).

Sampling strategy
A sample can be defined as the subset of the population from which the participants of the
study are selected. There are two types of sampling methods – probability sampling and non-
probability sampling.
The probability sampling is the one in which the probability of selection of each of the units
of population is equal. On the other hand, non- probability sampling is the one in which the
probability associated with the selection is not equal for all the units. In this research, a
purposive sampling that is also known as the subjective sampling has been used for selecting
the respondents of the study (Rahi, 2017). In purposive sampling, the sample is selected on
the basis of characteristics of the population. The sampling technique has helped in obtaining
the sample that helped in gaining detailed and accurate data about the negotiation process in
the purchasing process of Charles & Keith Wong (Taherdoost, 2016).
Data collection methods
The data collection stage is one of the most important stages of the research in which the data
associated with the research are collected with the help of data collection methods. There are
two types of data that can be collected for the research – primary data and the secondary data.
The primary data are the first hand or original data that have been collected specifically for
the research. The secondary data on the other hand are the data that are collected from the
previous researches or studies. (Mohajan, 2017). In this research, both the primary and
secondary data have been used. The primary data were collected with the help of interviews
that were conducted with the purchasing department of Charles & Keith Wong. The
secondary data on the other hand were collected with the help of past researches, studies,
articles, books, etc.

Data Analysis and Findings
This section of data analysis will present the findings obtained from the primary and
secondary research. The research indicates that purchasing process in the Charles & Keith
Wong is highly complex in nature with number of steps involved in the same. In this context,
the organization firstly recognizes the need for the raw material that has to be ordered for
manufacturing the fast fashion clothes or accessories. Then, the focus is on determining the
detailed specifications of the products so that the supplier can provide right kind of raw
material to the company. One the specifications of the products are made clear the focus of
Charles & Keith shifts towards search of suppliers. The company also sends the Request for
Proposal to the preferred suppliers so that the best supplier can be selected for the
organization that offers the material at best prices. The process of purchasing followed by
Charles & Keith includes a number of steps but, it lacks one of the most important elements
of an effective negotiation process – clearly defined clauses and conditions. The respondents
of the organization in the interview indicated that there are no clearly defined conditions for
the suppliers that are chosen for the supply. The respondents of the organization also
indicated that there are issues in the negotiation process that is carried out with the suppliers
regarding the price of the material, as the materials are procured at a high prices that further
leads to losses for the company. The interview respondents agreed with the fact that
negotiation process is crucial for the organization as it helps in avoiding the conflicts with the
suppliers. Further, the respondents also indicated that apart from the high prices and lack of
conditions and clauses, the purchasing process of Charles & Keith of the company is not
efficient enough to ensure the consistency in the supply of the organization. Charles & Keith
often face the issues associated with shortage of supply. The respondents were also asked
about the ways or strategies that can be used to improve the negotiation process of the
organization. The responses of respondents indicated that there is a need of clearly defined

objectives for each of the negotiation process of the company. A lack of clearly defined
objectives leads to failure of overall negotiation process in the organization along with
increasing the sourcing cost of the company. The interview responses also indicated that the
negotiation process should be conducted with fewer vendors so that the best prices can be
obtained along with best quality and service. This will help in reducing overall spending of
the organization rather than negotiating for the lowest price with a number of vendors. The
secondary research associated with the role and importance of negotiation process also
indicates that negotiation contributes in the growth of the organization by reducing the cost of
the organization and improving the quality. The study conducted by Lopez-Fresno,
Savolainen, and Miranda (2018) also indicates that the negotiation is one of the aspects that
influence the growth of organization. The author focused on the need to develop the
negotiating roots by asking several questions to the other parties. The negotiation skills are
must for the organization (KriŽman & Ruzicb, 2013).
Implications and Conclusion
This paper has discussed the role and importance of negotiation in the purchasing process in
context of Charles & Keith Wong. The findings of the study clearly indicate that negotiation
is an important process of the company that has an impact on the success of the organization.
The findings presented in this study can be used by the managers of purchasing department
so as to identify the negotiation issues in the purchasing process along with using the
strategies recommended in the paper can help in solving the issue. The research also focuses
on the fact that the negotiators must possess the skills and abilities associated with technical
knowledge, communication, relationship building etc. In addition, the focus should be on
setting the clear goals and objectives of the negotiation process (Miller, 2014).

This study provides deep insights related to role and importance of negotiation in the selected
organization along with the major issues in the purchasing negotiation. The research has also
provided important recommendations that can help in providing maximum value of the
money spent in procuring the raw material in the best prices. This study however, has some
limitations that will be discussed in this section. One of the major limitations of this research
is that only qualitative research approach has been used. Using both the qualitative and
quantitative approaches for the research improve overall effectiveness of the research along
with providing accurate results (Queirós, Faria, & Almeida, 2017). Further, the sample size
of the research is too small to generalize the findings of the research to a large population. A
small sample size negatively affects the reliability of the research along with reflecting an
element of biasness (Atieno, 2013). Finally, the responses of the respondents may be biased
that negatively affects findings of the research. Considering the limitations of the research,
the future researches should focus on using both the qualitative and qualitative research
approach for determining the issues in the negotiation process along with exploring the
solutions for the same. In addition, the future research should also focus on the factors that
negatively affect the negotiation process.

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Appendix
Interview questions
1. What do you think about the purchasing process of Charles & Keith Wong?
2. How important is the role of negotiation process in the purchasing process of Charles &
Keith Wong?
3. What are the major issues that are faced by Charles & Keith Wong in the purchasing
process?
4. Do you think there is a need to improve the negotiation skills of the employees?
5. What are some major negotiation strategies that can be used by Charles & Keith Wong?