For many brands, the scariest time of the year has arrived. No, I'm not talking
By Martin Heubel ยท October 30, 2026 ยท Curated by George's Blog
For many brands, the scariest time of the year has arrived. No, I'm not talking about Halloween ๐ I'm talking about #Amazon Vendor Negotiations (AVNs) ๐ธ
With Vendor Managers tasked with improving margins and rejecting cost increases, how can your teams prepare for it?
Here are five things to keep in mind:
1๏ธโฃ ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฏ๐ผ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐๐
Make sure you bring your own data to challenge and underline your positioning, and critically highlight where your Vendor Manager's storyline doesn't make commercially sense.
2๏ธโฃ ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
Vendor Managers know a high opening offer achieves far better results and gets them closer to their ZOPA (Zone of Possible Agreement). When they make investment requests, keep your emotions in check. Address any questions and tell your Vendor Manager what you need to evaluate their requests.
3๏ธโฃ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฉ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ๐
Made-up deadlines or threats to pause orders are just a few of the tactics Amazon uses in trade negotiations. Ensure your teams are trained to withstand and counter these methods. It's important that you call Amazon's bluff and understand their actual red lines.
4๏ธโฃ ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ด๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ
Become aware that time is on your side. Don't feel pressured to agree on anything you haven't fully understood or where you don't see the ROI justified.
5๏ธโฃ ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ป๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐บ ๐ฒ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ป๐
Especially when Vendor Managers cannot achieve their original negotiation targets. Make sure to inform your leadership teams about the potential escalation risk with the online retailer. Plan ahead and map out a RACI to facilitate top-to-top discussions when your negotiation is gridlocked.
Reach out if you need proven advice for your upcoming AVN.