Vendor Consolidation: Andrew Wilkinson & Tiny’s Framework to Boost Margins Fast
Vendor Consolidation: Andrew Wilkinson & Tiny’s Framework to Boost Margins Fast
Vendor Consolidation: Andrew Wilkinson & Tiny’s Framework to Boost Margins Fast is my plain-English playbook for cutting costs quickly without breaking the machine.
I’ll show you how I map spend, stack-rank vendors, run RFP-lite, and renegotiate with calm leverage.
I’ll give you copy-paste templates, scripts, and a 30-60-90 plan you can run this quarter.
Every sentence is short.
Every step is practical.
First principles I won’t bend
Consolidate where risk is low and savings are real.
Trade term, prepay, or volume for price.
Standardize SLAs so quality doesn’t slip.
Kill shadow tools and pet vendors politely.
For ruthless brevity while you run this, see our blog post: I Don’t Respond to Long Emails.
The 80/20 of vendor consolidation
Target the top 25 vendors by annualized spend.
Expect 60–80% of savings to come from this list.
Leave the long tail for last.
Keep one thread and one checklist.
For cadence that compounds, read: 02: Journaling With AI.
The 30-60-90 plan that actually ships
Days 1–30.
Inventory spend.
Block auto-renewals.
Issue RFP-lite to top 25.
Negotiate term/prepay/volume trades.
Days 31–60.
Down-select, pilot, sign MSAs with standard terms.
Turn off duplicates.
Days 61–90.
Roll out consolidated stack.
Publish savings and SLA scorecards.
Bank the cash.
Map your spend in one hour
Export the last 12 months of AP.
Group by vendor, category, and auto-renew date.
Flag must-run systems vs nice-to-have tools.
Note SLAs, notice periods, and hidden fees.
For simple storytelling that lands, see: Never Tell, Always Storytell.
Copy-paste — Vendor scorecard (one page)
VENDOR SCORECARD — v1.0 — {YYYY-MM-DD}
Vendor: {Name} Category: {SaaS/Cloud/3PL/Payments/Etc.} Owner: {Name}
SPEND & TERM
• Annualized spend: ${X}
• Term/auto-renew: {12/24/36 mo}, Notice: {days}, Renewal: {DATE}
PERFORMANCE
• SLA met last 90 days: {Yes/No}
• Incidents / escalations: {#}
• Business criticality: {High/Med/Low}
OPTIONS
• Consolidation target: {Vendor B}
• Negotiation levers: {Term/Prepay/Volume}
• Savings potential: {X%}
DECISION
• Keep / Consolidate / Exit by {DATE}
Run “RFP-lite” without a procurement circus
One page.
One ask.
One deadline.
Invite current vendor and two alternates.
Evaluate on price, SLA, security, and migration time.
Copy-paste — RFP-lite email
Subject: Quick quote request — {Category} consolidation by {DATE}
We’re consolidating {Category}.
Annualized spend is ${X} with {#} users / {volume}.
Please send one page with price for {12/24/36 months}, SLA, security summary, and migration plan.
Deadline {DATE, TIMEZONE}.
We will decide within 7 days.
Thanks,
{Name}
Negotiation levers that work in days, not months
Term for price.
Longer commitment for lower rate.
Prepay for discount.
Cash now for relief.
Volume for perks.
Bundle SKUs or seats to unlock tiers.
Set a quiet deadline and be willing to walk.
Copy-paste — Calm negotiation script
We like the partnership.
We are consolidating vendors this month.
We can offer {24/36-month} term or {X%} prepay.
If you can meet ${Target} and keep the current SLA, we’ll sign by {DATE}.
Can you confirm.
Contract hygiene that protects savings
Kill auto-renew traps with long notice periods.
Cap annual escalators.
Add most-favored pricing if they can’t meet your floor.
Standardize SLA, credits, security, and data ownership.
No bespoke legal for commodity vendors.
SaaS consolidation: cut tools, keep outcomes
List duplicates by job-to-be-done.
Choose the platform that integrates best with your core stack.
Right-size licenses and remove idle seats.
Move to annual where usage is stable.
For weekly execution rhythm, skim: 02: Journaling With AI.
Cloud FinOps: three fast moves
Right-size instances and buy reserved capacity where steady.
Turn on autoscaling and kill idle workloads.
Consolidate environments and logging tiers.
Alert on spend anomalies daily.
3PL and shipping: DIM, lanes, and SLAs
Consolidate to a 3PL with coverage in your peak regions.
Re-negotiate DIM weight, cartonization, and cutoffs.
Score carriers by on-time and claims, not brochure rates.
Pilot two lanes for a week before full cutover.
Payments and billing: basis points are real money
Consolidate gateways where auth rates and fees are best.
Negotiate interchange++ or blended with volume tiers.
Batch settlements to lower per-transaction fees.
Audit chargeback tools and dispute SLAs.
Insurance and benefits: bundle sensibly
Aggregate E&O, cyber, D&O under one broker for leverage.
Ask for multi-policy discounts and raise deductibles on low-frequency risks.
Re-shop benefits with participation and contribution held constant.
Data, analytics, and marketing tools
Consolidate tracking and CDP to one spine.
Standardize UTM and naming so analysis is portable.
Cut “try-me” tools that never made it into SOPs.
Security vendors: hygiene before heroics
Pick one SSO, one MDM, one backup, and one alerting layer.
Tie contracts to evidence of control, not slideware.
Document RTO/RPO and test restores.
Finance and AP: make savings visible
Move to one GL and one invoice format.
Close monthly with a savings bridge: list every vendor delta.
Tie savings to run-rate and cash.
Publish the scorecard so the team sees the win.
Communications that keep it human
Tell teams what’s not changing.
Share why you’re consolidating and the SLA you will keep.
Announce sunset dates early with opt-out paths for true edge cases.
Thank vendor partners who help you save.
Copy-paste — Internal announcement
Subject: Simplifying our vendor stack to boost margins
We’re consolidating vendors this quarter.
What’s not changing.
Outcomes and SLAs.
What is changing.
Fewer tools, clearer owners, better pricing.
Timeline.
Top 25 by {DATE}, long tail by {DATE}.
Questions go to {Owner} in this thread.
Copy-paste — Vendor exit note (polite, firm)
We’re simplifying our stack and will not renew {Contract} on {DATE}.
Please confirm termination receipt and final invoice plan.
Thank you for your support to date.
If a consolidation path emerges later, we’ll reach out.
Risk register for consolidation
Single points of failure.
Data migration risks.
Regulatory or customer contract impacts.
Rollback plan for each cutover.
Owner and T+24h escalation ladder.
KPIs I track weekly
Run-rate savings vs plan.
SLA adherence post-cutover.
Incident count and time-to-resolution.
Adoption of the consolidated tool.
Contract coverage vs renewal calendar.
Copy-paste — Savings tracker sheet (columns)
Vendor.
Category.
Old rate.
New rate.
Annualized savings.
Term/prepay/volume trades.
SLA risk (H/M/L).
Owner.
Status.
Red flags I price or avoid
Auto-renew in 30 days with no notice.
Hidden overages or data-exit fees.
Migration timelines that push past peak season.
Consolidation that breaks a core workflow.
Green flags I pay for
Price parity across business units.
Clear SLAs with credits.
Usage dashboards you can audit.
One support queue with named humans.
Do not forget the peg
If you’re selling the company, savings vanish without clean working-capital math.
Lock definitions, true-up dollar-for-dollar, and document prepaid balances.
For the one-page peg primer, read: Working Capital Peg Explained.
FAQs
How much can I save in 90 days.
Commonly 10–20% on the top 25 vendors if you trade term or prepay.
Annual or monthly contracts.
Annual for stable usage.
Monthly for volatile workloads.
What if a team loves a duplicate tool.
Give a 30-day pilot on the consolidated platform.
Honor one edge-case exemption per function.
When should I involve legal.
When changing indemnities, data terms, or high-risk SLAs.
Use standard MSA language for everything else.
Should I use a broker for 3PL or insurance.
Yes if they can prove better rates + service and give you options in one week.
How do I avoid morale hits.
Tell the truth.
Protect outcomes and support.
Show the savings scoreboard.
What about security.
Consolidate only after SSO, backups, and access hygiene are verified.
How do I keep savings from drifting.
Publish run-rate savings monthly and pin the renewal calendar.
What kills savings late.
Auto-renew traps, migration delays, and unowned cutovers.
Fix with notice, pilots, and named owners.
Conclusion
Vendor Consolidation: Andrew Wilkinson & Tiny’s Framework to Boost Margins Fast is about mapping the top 25, trading term/prepay/volume for price, and cutting duplicates without drama.
Run the 30-60-90 plan, use the templates, lock SLAs, and publish the savings so the team sees the win and the margin sticks.
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