What is contract review and renegotiation?
Contract review is the systematic examination of your existing contracts with carriers, forwarders and 3PLs on key dimensions: rate structure, surcharges and accessorials, fuel and currency clauses, indexing formulas, SLAs and KPIs, claim procedures, and contract duration. The goal is to identify concrete renegotiation opportunities and then execute them.
The most important difference from a carrier or forwarder tender is in scope and rhythm. A tender is a full re-procurement, intensive and disruptive, every two to three years. A contract review is a targeted recalibration of existing contracts without fully opening the market, faster and less disruptive, and ideally takes place annually.
Well-conducted renegotiations strengthen the relationship with your carriers. Professional carriers expect periodic recalibration and know that market-competitive terms are a healthy basis for long-term cooperation. It only goes wrong when it happens aggressively or without substantiation, which is exactly what a structured approach prevents.
When is a contract review relevant?
A review is sensible on multiple triggers. Periodically (annually) as healthy hygiene between tender moments. With significant market shifts where your contracts fall out of step with current market reality, such as after a sea freight peak. With changes in your own volumes or shipment mix making the original contract basis no longer optimal. And with identified KPI shortfalls where SLAs need to be tightened.
For shippers with multiple parallel contracts with different end dates, a review is also a good way to harmonize the portfolio gradually rather than wanting to retender everything at once.
Our approach
We map all carrier contracts and analyze them clause by clause. Rate structure, surcharges, indexing, SLAs, claim procedures, payment and exit conditions become visible in a structured overview.
Per contract and per clause we benchmark against current market conditions and industry best practices. This delivers a list per contract of deviations, opportunities and risks.
Not all opportunities are equally worth pursuing. We prioritize on impact, feasibility and risk to the relationship. This prevents you from negotiating everything at once with the result that nothing really progresses.
Per prioritized opportunity we build a negotiation strategy: timing, argumentation, fallback positions and desired end result. The conversations we conduct together with your purchasing or logistics manager, not for you.
Agreed adjustments are captured in addenda or new contracts. We monitor in the first months whether the agreed adjustments actually land in your invoicing and KPIs.
What you get
- Contract inventory with clause analysis per carrier
- Benchmark report against market and best practices
- Prioritized renegotiation agenda with impact estimate
- Renegotiation strategy per prioritized topic
- Renegotiations led together with your purchasing manager
- Addenda or new contracts, plus implementation monitoring
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a contract review and a tender?
A tender is a full re-procurement where carriers compete for your volumes. A contract review is a targeted recalibration of existing contracts without fully opening the market. The review is faster (four to six weeks) and less disruptive to your operation, but typically delivers slightly less savings than a full tender.
How often should I review my contracts?
For most shippers an annual contract review is the right rhythm, with a full tender every two to three years. In strongly changing markets (such as peaks or troughs in sea freight) a semi-annual review can be valuable for the most impactful contracts.
What are typical renegotiation options?
The most common options are rate adjustment (based on market shifts), adjustment of fuel and indexing clauses, extension of payment terms, SLA tightening, volume-related discounts, or a combination. Renegotiations often go beyond price alone and also touch contract duration and exit clauses.
Do my carriers get angry from a renegotiation?
Renegotiating is part of a professional business relationship and good carriers expect it. A well-conducted renegotiation strengthens the relationship because both parties know the terms are market-competitive. It only derails when it happens aggressively or without substantiation, which is exactly what a structured approach prevents.
How long does a renegotiation process take?
A full review and renegotiation takes six to ten weeks. The review itself takes about three weeks, drafting the negotiation strategy one to two weeks and the actual conversations two to four weeks. Implementation of new terms follows afterward.
A review of your carrier contracts?
Schedule a call where we walk through which contracts fit in scope and what opportunities exist.