A supplier price increase letter hits your inbox. The clock starts immediately.

Most buyers have two weeks to respond. Their suppliers are already working with current market intelligence, while many procurement teams are validating claims with data that's 30 to 60 days old.

In this episode, Michael Workman and Brian Balboa break down what happens when a resin supplier announces a price increase — and why the outcome is often decided before the first negotiation.

They explore four common failure modes that weaken a buyer's position:

• Timing: negotiating with delayed market information
• Trust: relying on data that wasn't built for buyers
• Precision: benchmarking the wrong grade
• Access: having data but not being able to act on it quickly

Michael and Brian also review a real-world HDPE example where two buyers received the same $0.30/lb increase letter but achieved very different results based on their preparation.

The difference wasn't negotiation skill. It was validation, benchmarking, and independent market intelligence.

TOPICS COVERED

• Why published resin indices can leave buyers negotiating with outdated information
• The four procurement failure modes: timing, trust, precision, and access
• Why supplier justification requests often fail to create leverage
• How grade-level benchmarking improves negotiation outcomes
• The difference between cost recovery and margin expansion
• What prepared buyers do after receiving a price increase letter

Request your free RESIN8 Benchmark Assessment at resinsmart.ai.

Connect with Michael Workman on LinkedIn.