A Report on Negotiation, RFP, and Contractual Processes in Retail

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PITCHING AND NEGOTIATION SKILLS
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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
PART 1............................................................................................................................................4
1. Determine what a negotiation is, why it occurs and who the key stakeholders are during a
negotiation process......................................................................................................................4
2. Evaluate the key steps and information required for negotiating and generating deals..........5
3. Explain the RFP process and the relevant types of documentation required..........................6
4. Explain the contractual process and how relevant documentation is managed and monitored.
.....................................................................................................................................................7
Reference.....................................................................................................................................9
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Introduction
Negotiation can be simply defined as a process of discuss which is done strategically for
resolving a certain issue. This is commonly done in such a way where both of the involved
parties find the result acceptable. It is to be noted that each party attempts to persuade the other
for agreeing with his/her point of view. The main motive of designing this report is to highlight
the significance of negotiation within an organisation. In this context, a small store named
“Harry Store” is considered which is dealing in the retail industry. It is offering fashionable
clothes, domestic products, and luxury products to the estimated customers. In this project, the
process of negotiation will be explained in a detailed manner so that learner will get familiar with
the same. In addition to this, the main steps which are being used for doing negotiation and
common deals will also be described properly so that an individual can apply the same steps
while negotiating.
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PART 1
1. Determine what a negotiation is, why it occurs and who the key stakeholders are during
a negotiation process.
As ‘Harry Store’ is small retail store which is going to launch their products in market, it is
obvious that conflicting situation would occur in future. To deal with such conflicts, firm can
use the concepts of negotiation. This simply refers to the process of discussing something with
an individual for reaching a common agreement with them. In other words, it can be defined as
the process that is used by two or parties who are involved in a conflict and are trying to reach an
agreement (Crump, 2011).
This mainly happens in a business situation, while people negotiate in everyday situations
outside the working place. There are some main reasons for the occurrence of negotiation:
 To overcome any dispute between two or more parties
 To agree on how to divide a limited resource like money, time or land
 For creating something new which any party cannot do on his or her own.
A stakeholder is nothing but an individual who would be directly affected by the result of a
process of decision making. The stakeholder representatives in the negotiation process are thus
those people who are commonly hired or selected for speaking on behalf of a party. The third
party can be from outside or from inside the corporation. Harry Store should consider such
information and try to resolve the conflicting situation by applying the process of negotiation.
According to Crump (2011), the steps involved in negotiation process, i.e. preparation, opening,
bargaining, and closing are quite beneficial as it helps in resolving any kind of conflict present
between two parties, agencies or organisation. If any issue would occur while negotiating like
one party will not agree with the terms of another, then they need to talk after a long period by
making amendments on the terms.
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2. Evaluate the key steps and information required for negotiating and generating deals.
For negotiating, the general information which is needed is a matter of agreement, terms, and
conditions, the name of the parties and their objectives, pros and cons of a certain term, etc.
Negotiation process comprises of certain steps that need to be used by Harry Store. These steps
are discussed below in detail:
 Preparation: In this step, planning and preparation are being performed. At this moment,
parties decide what they want to gain and what is their minimum expectation.
 Opening: In this stage, the parties move a step for meeting each other on a table. In this
step, rapport building is carried on where parties start knowing each other by exchanging
their instructions, backgrounds, and names. Here, negotiation begins with a friendly note
but with a professional approach.
 Bargaining: In this step, bargaining gets to start from both sides where the involved
parties try to influence one another by representing their wishes. The main motive of
doing so is to come at a conclusion or settlement (García Iragorri, 2011). It is to be noted
that a forceful negotiation is not considered and if it happens, then parties need to take a
long break and meet after a long period along with new terms and conditions.
 Closing: After the occurrence of bargaining, the process of negotiation gets closed since
settlement occurred after that stage. At last the final and ultimate terms are agreed from
both parties and documents related to that get signed.
Harry Store should consider the four steps of the negotiation process that are preparation,
opening, bargaining, and closing. In this context, information that is required is terms associated
with the agreement, name of both parties, their views and so on (No, et. al., 2011). Preparation is
important since, in this stage, the company tries to decide what they want and after that, they
start negotiation in the opening stage. After that bargaining get started to meet the desired aim.
And at last, after settling down of the matter, the process of negotiation gets closed.
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3. Explain the RFP process and the relevant types of documentation required
RPF is the acronym of a request for proposal. This can be defined as a document that shows the
overall needs and requirements of a project. This means it specifies what the user is demanding
and explains each evaluation principle on which the proposal of a specific vendor can be
assessed (Adamson, Dixon and Toman, 2012). The main documentation which is required here is
document related to demands of vendors, additional information if exits, charges and time
associated with the project, solicitation document, the name of the bidders and so on.
The process of RPF begins with drafting RPF, where bidders commonly review the draft
solicitation document and recommend the improvement. An enterprise then issues an RPF for
inviting the bidders to a pre-bid meeting or conference. Here, they put questions in front of them
regarding the solicitation document and try to learn more about a specific project. After that, the
final RPF shows the suggested feedbacks which is received while the drafting stage is then
issued and submission of proposal is being made by bidders. RPF process can be applied in
Harry Store. If a company is going to keep its request for the proposal in front of their supplier,
vendor, client, then they need to specify their demands. The enterprise has to draft their RPF and
solicitation document (Spagnolo, 2012). After that bidders can suggest any change in the
proposal or another thing. And at last when they think the requested proposal is better, then they
can bid on the same.
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4. Explain the contractual process and how relevant documentation is managed and
monitored.
The contractual process can be simply described as the management of contracts from customers,
workers, vendors, partners, etc. The people who are getting engaged within specific contract
administration have to support, manage and negotiate the effective agreements. The management
of contract involves activities like negotiating certain terms & conditions and assuring
compliance with those conditions (Lewis and Bajari, 2011). In addition to this, agreeing on
certain modifications that may occur during its execution. The important document is managed
and controlled in the following manner:
 The file of the contract will be open by the procurement officer, and the terms and
conditions are effectively analysed by considering the rights and obligations of every
party.
 Any problem encountered with the project should be documented in the same file.
 Any amendment will also mention in the file.
 The contracts are analysed with the help of direct and indirect observation methods.
This is to be noted that parties involved in a specific contract arrange meetings for entering into a
contract. The terms and conditions are being explained by one party to another so that both of
them become aware of all kinds of information related to the Concord.
As per the views of Bergman and Lundberg (2013), competitive tendering is a method of
procurement in the industry of construction. Here, governments usually give an invitation to
companies for bidding for a large project. This project needs to be submitted before or within the
deadline. On the other side, the contract process is the technique where two or more parties try to
start a concord with another by agreeing on certain terms and conditions. To complete a tender
with a minimum number of risks, the following conditions should be followed by an enterprise:
 A clear and complete description of the tender documents;
 Information related to pricing schedules need to completely mentioned;
 Specifying intellectual property rights and facts related to maintain confidently;
 Describing the period in which tender is valid for the acceptance (Laryea, 2011).
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Reference
 Laryea, S., 2011. Quality of tender documents: case studies from the UK. Construction
Management and Economics, 29(3), pp.275-286.
 Bergman, M.A. and Lundberg, S., 2013. Tender evaluation and supplier selection methods in
public procurement. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 19(2), pp.73-83.
 Decarolis, F., 2014. Awarding price, contract performance, and bids screening: Evidence
from procurement auctions. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 6(1), pp.108-32.
 Lewis, G. and Bajari, P., 2011. Procurement contracting with time incentives: Theory and
evidence. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 126(3), pp.1173-1211.
 Designingbuildings.co.uk., 2019. Competitive tender - Designing Buildings Wiki. [online]
Available at: https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Competitive_tender [Accessed 15 Mar.
2019].
 Spagnolo, G., 2012. Reputation, competition, and entry in procurement. International
Journal of Industrial Organisation, 30(3), pp.291-296.
 Crump, L., 2011. Negotiation process and negotiation context. International
Negotiation, 16(2), pp.197-227.
 No, S., Wan, C., Chao, M.M., Rosner, J.L. and Hong, Y.Y., 2011. Bicultural identity
negotiation. Cultural processes: A social psychological perspective, pp.213-241.
 García Iragorri, A., 2011. Negotiation in international relations. Revista de Derecho, 19(19).
 Adamson, B., Dixon, M. and Toman, N., 2012. The end of solution sales (pp. 60-68).
Harvard Business School.
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