Negotiations of Multi- party and Phased Nature Getting agreement with several parties

Introduction Sometimes negotiations take place with several parties at the same time. For instance, arbitration is one form of multi-party negotiation; the acquisition of a major capital project will require suppliers offering different products and skills. The negotiations with one supplier may be contingent on the outcome of negotiations with another.

Considerations A strategic decision will depend on the relationship that is wanted with all the participants. There may be reasons to, at one extreme, seek to divide and conquer or, at the other extreme, to work by consensus.

Sequence Multi-phased negotiations will be a stage in the acquisition of a major capital project and follows: tender calls the receipt of tender bids the evaluation of bids the awarding of a tender to the successful bidder

Preparation Most of the work will have been done in the preparation of the tender call and the tender bid. The negotiations will be about the exact goods to be supplied and the prices. The buyer will seek to improve the cost effectiveness of the received bid.

Beginning multi-party negotiations Once agreement has been reached, that multiparty negotiations will take place, negotiations can take the form of A plenary session Sequential one-on-one negotiations Some combination of the above Each form has advantages and disadvantages

Conclusion Multi-party and phased negotiations usually take place when there is a large project. The principles of negotiations are no different from those in one-on-one negotiations.