Choose a supplier on comparable numbers, not on the best-looking offer.
Meridian works on the buyer side: we define what you are actually sourcing, put offers on the same basis, evaluate suppliers against criteria you agree with, and prepare the negotiation.
Download the Meridian guide before a procurement review
How to Reduce Procurement Costs Without Losing Quality. Map hidden procurement costs, supplier risks and improvement opportunities before comparing offers.
Most supplier decisions fail before the negotiation starts.
- Offers describe different scopes and are compared as if they were the same
- The unit price hides logistics, tooling, payment terms and minimum quantities
- Only suppliers who happened to answer first are considered
- Quality and delivery reliability are assumed rather than checked
- There are no criteria, so the decision comes down to a feeling
- The negotiation starts without a target, a range or a walk-away point
What we examine beyond the unit price
The difference between two offers often sits in what the price does not show.
- Payment terms and their effect on working capital
- Minimum quantities and their inventory consequences
- Transport, packaging and landed cost
- Lead times, delivery reliability and delays
- Quality, claims and the cost of deviation
- Dependency risk and a workable alternative
- Total annual cost, not the cost of one order
Offers are reduced to the same basis.
Once price, lead time, terms and risk sit side by side, the cheapest offer is often not the best decision.
| Criterion | Supplier A | Supplier B | Supplier C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Lowest | Medium | High |
| Lead time | Long | Short | Medium |
| Payment terms | Advance | 30 days | 45 days |
| Dependency risk | High | Low | Medium |
- Price
- Lowest
- Lead time
- Long
- Payment terms
- Advance
- Dependency risk
- High
- Price
- Medium
- Lead time
- Short
- Payment terms
- 30 days
- Dependency risk
- Low
- Price
- High
- Lead time
- Medium
- Payment terms
- 45 days
- Dependency risk
- Medium
Illustrative only; no real client data is shown.
From a defined requirement to a supplier decision you can defend
- 01Requirement — what exactly is being sourced, in what volume and under what conditions.
- 02Criteria — what a supplier must meet, and what is merely desirable.
- 03Enquiry — a structured RFQ so answers are comparable.
- 04Normalisation — all offers converted to one total-cost basis.
- 05Evaluation — commercial terms, logistics, quality and risk.
- 06Shortlist and recommendation, plus a negotiation basis for the final talks.
You leave with a decision that can be explained to an owner or a board.
Depending on scope, the engagement leaves behind:
- A written definition of what is being sourced and under what conditions
- Agreed supplier criteria, separated into must-have and desirable
- A structured enquiry sent to a defined set of suppliers
- A comparable offer base on one total-cost basis
- An assessment of commercial terms, logistics, quality and risk
- A supplier shortlist with reasoning
- A recommendation and the conditions under which it holds
- A negotiation basis: target, acceptable range and walk-away point
When this work pays off
- The category represents a significant share of your cost base
- A contract or price list is due for renewal
- You suspect the current price is outside the market
- You are entering a new category or sourcing market
- You need to prepare for a negotiation with a stronger supplier
- The decision has to be explained to an owner, board or financier
A buyer-side mandate, kept separate
Meridian works either for the buyer or for the supplier in a given commercial relationship — never for both.
What Meridian does
- Defining the requirement and the sourcing criteria
- Running a structured enquiry and normalising offers
- Evaluating suppliers and preparing a shortlist
- Preparing the negotiation and taking part with a clear mandate
What Meridian does not do
- Acting for the buyer and the supplier in the same relationship
- Reselling goods or taking a supplier commission
- Guaranteed savings or guaranteed prices
- Quality certification or laboratory testing
- Managing your day-to-day ordering and operations
Common questions
Is this the same as Retail Consulting?
No. Here Meridian works on the buyer side — you are choosing a supplier. Retail Consulting works on the supplier side, towards retail chains. We do not act for both sides in the same commercial relationship.
Do you negotiate with suppliers on our behalf?
We prepare the negotiation and can take part in meetings by agreement and with a clear mandate. We do not represent you without one.
What if we already have offers?
Then we start by normalising them: the same scope, the same conditions and the same total cost logic, so the comparison is real.
Do you guarantee a lower price?
No. We structure the decision and the negotiation basis. The result depends on the market, volumes and your own constraints.
Tell us what you need to source and where the decision is stuck.
Whether you are starting from scratch or already holding offers, we will propose a scope that gets you to a defensible decision.
Tell us what you need to sourceThe first conversation is informal and without obligation.