Without extraneous and inaccurate data or opinions.

Recent Success Stories – Use Cases

As a procurement professional, your priority is to get the goods and services quickly, on a cost and value basis that matches your internal customer’s requirements.

You’re likely not easily charmed by “benefit statements” and supplier claims: Just the facts.

The SPY Index™ contains over a million data points covering IT service costs and contract terms across the globe.  You’ll know – not guess – the right price and terms for your IT outsourcing procurement project.

How can RampRate aid me in the decision-making process?

When you arrive at a decision with RampRate in the background, you’ll have factual data that shows you’ve done the best possible deal.

Our focused sourcing team can even negotiate directly with suppliers on your behalf once you’ve made a decision, giving you the opportunity to focus on your strategic priorities.

In most large businesses today, resources for procurement and sourcing have scaled back to the point where it’s almost impossible to keep current on existing contracts, much less have everything current while working new requirements.

RampRate acts as additional staff reporting directly to you. How would it look if you were able to reduce new procurement time lag by 20%, 30% or more while lowering your spend by an equal amount? How does your company spell “Hero”?

Can I renegotiate a contract before it expires?

It’s all about the data.

If you know with certainty the best market price, and know for sure the shortest/most flexible terms in the market, you’re in a position to have it all.  Hundreds of RampRate clients have used our SPY Index™ data and the RampRate sourcing methodology to achieve results that would have been impossible on their own.

Think about it: You may negotiate a big data center contract every 2-3 years at best.  RampRate has the data on hundreds of recent transactions and the means to find and secure the absolute best deal you could have.

Can I renegotiate a contract before it expires?

The short answer is “Absolutely, with rare exceptions.”

RampRate has renegotiated hundreds of contracts before a stated expiration date and almost always without adding time to the original contract. How?  The methods change based on the situation but essentially we’ve learned how to incentivize the supplier to cooperate in a true win-win in your favor.

Rest assured that your supplier relationships will remain strong and perhaps even stronger after a mid-contract negotiation.

What’s a reasonable cost adjustment for scale or time?

That depends on your priorities, but what if you could have it all?  Or at least be certain that you’re getting the very best possible deal? RampRate’s extensive SPY Index™ has data covering scaling and contract terms.

What may seem reasonable is not necessarily what is available in the market to businesses like yours – including your competitors.

Wouldn’t you rather know what’s real rather than just what seems reasonable?

What changes should I ask for in the next renewal?

Part of a RampRate engagement is comparing your services against the market, but that would be meaningless unless we understand your priorities.

We’ve mastered the art of quickly establishing what’s important to you, and what’s not. We almost always immediately find opportunities to improve costs.

But we don’t stop there.  We typically find dozens of improvements that are available but not necessarily offered freely by suppliers.

Just a few examples are SLA increases and clear penalties, contract term and termination advantages, new services and upgrades available but not offered, and payment terms to better match your business.

What are the big non-cost variables I need to manage?

Our SPY Index™ tracks hundreds of variables for comparison across our practice areas. From real-world SLA terms to a supplier’s carbon footprint to future build plans and capabilities – we’ve got all the data.

And it goes beyond static data:  We identify your specific requirements and preferences for non-cost variables to arrive at a factored, weighted balance point with which to compare suitable suppliers. Using this methodology, you’ll not only know you’re getting the right price, but you’ll be assured the entire deal is the best possible for your business.

How do I get past the technical jargon to the real meat?

We don’t track suppliers’ marketing tag lines – we track hard data.

Our analysts are technical experts first, with extensive sourcing experience in one or more areas of IT outsourcing: Data Center, Telecom, IP transit, Managed Services, CDN and Cloud Services.

We’ll cut the fat from the meat and separate the pitch from the data you need to make the right decisions.