BST was engaged to evaluate a large securities pricing supplier prior to the renewal of the multi-year contract. The client authorized us as their agent to conduct the negotiations on their behalf. Our analysis included benchmarking the pricing against the industry and reviewing all terms and conditions as well as renewal options for future years. The result of this negotiation resulted in a material reduction in fee levels representing ~$1,000,000 over a three-year contract. In addition, we simplified the fee model from a month-to-month multiple variation of fees methodology to a fixed monthly fee that enabled the client to budget for the full three years.
Market Data Consulting
BST has a distinctive approach to understanding the depth and breadth of market data and information services across the financial, accounting, consulting, pharmaceutical and legal industries.
We work for clients (users) as well as suppliers in:
- Providing users with the best mix of tools to perform their daily business requirements while maximizing the firms’ investment in data
- Providing market intelligence for suppliers to understand their customers better in order to enhance and grow their relationships
VENDOR MANAGEMENT
Vendor Management comprises the lifecycle of sourcing and negotiating for all types of information. BST, through its extensive network of resources provides valuable insight into the terms, conditions, rate cards and usage terms that encompass supplier contracts. Our ability to benchmark suppliers’ is second to none in the industry; and given the frequency of these engagements our information is current and relevant. A key aspect of this work is BST’s reputation of confidentiality. We NEVER disclose the source of our information; rather we provide the type of institution where the data has from. We protect every client’s information and believe that our integrity is the key ingredient in what has allowed us to be trusted with sensitive information for all these years.
CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS
BST is often hired to conduct contract negotiations on behalf of our clients. We offer three options:
As Agent: Our client hires us to act as agent for the firm on a specific supplier. All negotiations take place between the supplier and BST. Prior to negotiations, BST and their client agree on the strategy and objectives for the negotiations. All information is reviewed between BST and their client until business terms are reached for the agreement. This option is typically used when the client does not enjoy an easy relationship with their supplier or if negotiations have reached a stand still.
As Voice Behind the Curtain: Our client hires us to provide ongoing strategy during negotiations, however the supplier is unaware that BST is involved. This option is typically used when the client has a very good relationship with their supplier and does not want to disclose that assistance is being provided.
As Joint Task Force: This facet of negotiations often works best as the supplier is fully aware that an expert has been employed, however they remain able to discuss the issues with their client directly while engaging with BST simultaneously.
DEMAND MANAGEMENT
Demand Management, often called User Analysis, functions as a way of obtaining critical and useful information directly from the user community. Internal market data staff are often unable to perform this important task due to daily business requirements. BST is uniquely positioned to provide this service due to our in-depth knowledge of suppliers and their services, alternatives to existing services and the profile layouts of many of our client’s peers. BST consultants, through surveys and interviews, determine if internal inventory is correct (user validates their service list and often lets us know about content that is missing; user tells us if they no longer use or need a service; users inform us that they are unhappy with their current mix of services and would entertain alternatives) and then provide recommendations to management on how best to reduce costs by reduction, replacement, consolidation, etc. BST has a proven record of success, savings millions of dollars for its clients over the course of our 20-year history.
COMPLIANCE: AUDIT, CONTROL AND RECOVERY
As market data experts know, consumption and distribution of market data is a licensable task and must be negotiated into the contract for the firm to be in compliance with a suppliers’ terms and conditions of usage. At the business level, at an alarming frequency, applications are being created without the knowledge of commercial sourcing, putting firms in jeopardy of vendor audits and potentially costly claims for unrecovered revenue, often in the millions of dollars. BST will work with their clients to inventory all out of compliance usage, review contracts to ensure licensing is up to par, and create a pro-active compliance program aimed at mitigating potential risks before they occur. Further, our consultants can work with clients to minimize current claims using our negotiation skills and knowledge of other auditing results as a benchmark to achieve the best outcome possible.
WORKFLOW AND GOVERNANCE
BST will work with our clients on an efficient data management operating model which will be utilized to identify, industrialize, and scale the market data cost reduction achievements into on-going operations and business processes across the organization globally. Understanding our clients’ current state, geographic distribution and organizational hierarchies is the first step to providing prioritized alternatives and an overall recommendation.
Case Study
