Direct costs are those directly attributable to the production of a unit - such as raw materials, components, and direct labour. Here, the metal used is a clear direct cost, as it varies with production output. Rent, insurance, and sales wages are indirect (overhead) costs, which must be allocated across products.
Understanding this distinction is vital in negotiations, since direct costs are easier to challenge for efficiency gains, while indirect allocations may be arbitrary. Buyers with clear knowledge of cost breakdowns can negotiate more effectively, avoiding inflated pricing.
Reference: CIPS L4M5 (2nd ed.), LO 2.2 - Cost analysis: direct vs indirect costs in supplier quotations.

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A business negotiation agenda is a formal agreed upon list of goals to be achieved or items to be discussed in a particular order during a meeting or negotiation. Agendas can be formal and obvious, or informal and subtle in negotiations.
The agenda is one of the main structural elements of negotiation, in addition to such questions as site, identification of participants, and elements of timing. Together, they answer the who, what, when, and where questions. As with other aspects of negotiation, the agenda can be used either manipulatively to enhance leverage or to improve the prospects for agreement and the possibilities for mutual gain. In most cases, it will be used both ways, reflecting the nature of negotiation as a "mixed-motive" situation.
Although it can be instrumental to [research] volunteer as a sole source to write the agenda, in most cases it becomes a joint activity to construct a consensual basis for subsequent negotiation. In these situations, agenda- building becomes one of the pre-negotiation activities that set the tone for the relationship (Saunders, 1985).
In other situations, the parties may engage in actual negotiation without a formal or written agenda. When this occurs, the risks and uncertainties may be high but the party who appreciates the importance of the informal agenda has a tremendous advantage.
Whether one plans it or not, during the course of negotiation the parties will discuss a finite set of issues in some sequence and from a particular perceptual framework. Consciousness of the universality and centrality of the agenda is prerequisite to guiding negotiation to a successful conclusion.

Ray Carter coined the mnemonic STOPS WASTE to remind buyers of 10 cost-reduction ideas they can ask for themselves and their suppliers in any situation when considering a key purchase input. Stop Waste by:
Standardisation - is there a standard specification?
Transportation - is the inbound transport classification appropriate
Over-engineered - is the specification too tight?
Packaging - can packaging be reduced or eliminated?
Substitutes - is there a cheaper substitute material
Weight - is there opportunity to reduce weight of the product?
Any unnecessary processing - is there any unnecessary design or feature?
Supplier's input - are suppliers able to assist with the cost reduction To make - is it more economical to make or buy?
Eliminate - if no one uses the feature, can it be eliminated?
SAMOA is a useful acronym for checking and testing the information gathered from the Internet:
Source
Audience
Methodology
Objectivity
Accuracy
OWN-IT is acronym for 5 steps in the process of collecting and analysing the data andinformation needed in any field:
Outline
Wide search
Narrow search
Increase your stockpile of information
Transform your stockpile into new knowledge
A SMART goal is used to help guide goal setting. SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific,Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound.

A monopoly exists when only one company can supply an essential product or service in a given region because of significant barriers to entry for any competitor. The barriers can be legal, regulatory, economic, or geographic. Ma Bell case is an example of monopoly. The company was broken up in 1982.
A monopsony is a market structure in which a single buyer substantially controls the market as the major purchaser of goods and services offered by many would-be sellers.
Pure or perfect competition is a theoretical market structure in which the following criteria are met:
- All firms sell an identical product (the product is a "commodity" or "homogeneous").
- All firms are price takers (they cannot influence the market price of their product).
- Market share has no influence on prices.
- Buyers have complete or "perfect" information-in the past, present and future-about the product being sold and the prices charged by each firm.
- Resources for such a labor are perfectly mobile.
- Firms can enter or exit the market without cost.
Monopolistic competition characterizes an industry in which many firms offer products or services that are similar, but not perfect substitutes. Barriers to entry and exit in a monopolistic competitive industry are low, and the decisions of any one firm do not directly affect those of its competitors. Monopolistic competition is closely related to the business strategy of brand differentiation