Stop Treating 6-Month Decisions Like 90-Day Renewals
The industry standard "90-day alert" is fine for small tools, but it is a trap for your most expensive contracts. Strategic experts at Chase Cost Management (CCM) warn: if you wait until the quarter before renewal, the outcome is already predetermined.
Why 90 Days Is No Longer Enough
Most governance models treat every vendor the same: an alert goes off 60 or 90 days before the contract end date. For a $20k SaaS tool, that works.
But for your top 20% of spend—ERPs, CRMs, Cloud Infrastructure, Tech upgrades—90 days is the "Execution Window," not the "Strategy Window." By that point, you cannot migrate data, you cannot run a credible RFP, and you cannot meaningfully change scope. The vendor knows this. Your lack of time is their leverage.
The Strategic Renewal Runway
Effective vendor governance segments vendors by complexity, not just cost. Here is the timeline best-in-class organizations use for strategic decision making.
The Strategy Window
- Usage Audit: Are we consuming what we bought? Identify shelfware now.
- Scope Definition: Has the business need changed? Do we need to scale up or pare down?
- The "Switch" Threat: If a migration is needed, feasibility studies happen here.
The Leverage Window
- Market Benchmarking: Compare your target price against current market rates.
- Initial Proposals: Signal your intent to the vendor. Anchor the negotiation early.
- Internal Alignment: Finance, Legal, and Tech stakeholders are aligned on the "Walk Away" point.
The Execution Window
- Final Terms: Locking in payment cycles, growth tiers, and legal redlines.
- Signature: No rushing. No emergency approvals.
- Success: The deal is signed on your timeline, not theirs.
You cannot run a 9-month cycle for every vendor—you would drown in process. The key is Segmentation. Your governance model must automatically distinguish between a "commoditized renewal" (30 days) and a "strategic negotiation" (180+ days) and trigger the right workflow for each.
