Fibro, Inc. provides modular technology and robotics for industrial-automation applications. The company learned that the cables it had purchased for robotic gantries for one large customer were failing. The cables had worked for awhile, but after approximately three-to-six months of constant motion the robots were experiencing signal problems. The end customer demanded replacements.

Problem: It turned out that the eventual application for the gantries required more flexible cables than the cable supplier provided to Fibro. Fibro's engineers blamed the cable manufacturer for supplying defective product. The cable manufacturer said Fibro had specified the wrong cables. The total cost for replacing all the cables was approximately $60,000. Fibro's John Shoulders was in charge of negotiations to resolve the problem. He replaced two of the machines but didn't want to expend any more funds. He contacted the cable manufacturer, which refused to share the replacement expense.

Among possible solutions: Fibro replaces all cables; Fibro refuses and forces cable manufacturer to replace all cables under threat of losing future business; Fibro and cable manufacturer both refuse claiming the end customer gave them the wrong specs; all three parties split the cost of replacing the cables evenly. See www.purchasing.com/negotiations for the solution.

Solution: Fibro replaced cables for two of the machines. Then, Shoulders called the sales rep for the cable manufacturer and said that regardless of who was at fault the perception of the end customer could be that the malfunctioning cables, not necessarily the robots, were of poor quality. He said he based his opinion on a conversation he overheard at the end customer site about how poorly the cables were holding up in the application. Shoulders said it was likely that the end customer would never again specify that brand cable.

Result: The cable supplier replaced the remaining cables at its cost to protect the company’s image and secure future business.

Are you a black belt negotiator? Tell us about one of your negotiation successes, and we'll print it so others can learn from your experience. Send it to pteague@reedbusiness.com.