Service Overview

Know the Market Before You Negotiate

Most supplier negotiations start the same way: someone says the offer is “competitive,” and nobody in the room can prove it. A proposed reduction sounds meaningful until you discover the deal is structurally out of market , or the savings are being offset by terms that quietly raise total cost over time. Suppliers know how to manage revenue write‑downs inside complex constructs, bundles, and shifting service definitions. Buyers shouldn’t have to negotiate on faith.

Benchmarking fixes that, but only when it’s built from the deals that actually set the market.

TC2’s market intelligence is grounded in real enterprise outcomes—market‑leading contracts and competitive RFP offers that we negotiated with (or alongside) our clients. That deal flow is what keeps our view current, specific, and actionable. We don’t rely on analyst surveys or invoice‑derived datasets. What you get is a practical, negotiation‑ready point of view on rates, deal terms, and best‑practice solution constructs—so you can move from “we think this is reasonable” to “we know what the market will support.”

Why Benchmarking Matters More than Ever

In many categories the market has become harder to read. Technology portfolios change fast, pricing models evolve and consolidation narrows credible alternatives. And the difference between a good outcome and a bad one is as much about pricing for key service elements as it is the mechanics underneath it.

Without a benchmark, teams tend to default to one of two bad options. They either accept the supplier’s view of the market, or they push back on instinct and create friction internally because stakeholders can’t align on how hard to push or which issues matter most. A strong benchmark gives you the ability to be firm without being speculative. It gives everyone a shared reference so you can challenge supplier positions credibly and align internally on appropriate targets and tradeoffs.

The More Complicated the Deal, the More Valuable We Become

TC2 benchmarks both economics and constructs, because both determine outcomes.

On the economics side, we benchmark pricing, discounting, rate structures, and commercial constructs in context—normalized for scale, geography, service mix, and term length.  TC2’s databases contain hundreds of thousands of negotiated price points spanning most major IT categories.  We also track and quantify the unique impact of surcharge applicability that varies significantly between suppliers and can have a material impact on benchmark assessments.

The point, however, isn’t to just hand you a number as unit rates taken out of context are not impactful and won’t provide credible and convincing fact-based information needed to successfully negotiate a positive outcome. The point is to show you what comparable enterprises are achieving at the leading edge and what current market conditions and levers are moving the market right now.

On the construct side, we benchmark the clauses and operating mechanics that shape lifecycle cost and flexibility. This includes contract term and minimum service/circuit terms, renewal rights, revenue commitments, transition periods, audit and dispute rights, service levels and remedies and governance frameworks.

What You Don’t Know Could Cost You Millions

Benchmarking is most valuable when the stakes are high, and you have limited or imperfect information.

It’s used ahead of renewals, when you need to quantify the gap to market for key service elements in production today while also accounting for anticipated change in bandwidth or services over the new term.

It’s used during competitive events, to evaluate proposals against the broader market to provide fact-based targeted coaching and feedback to confidently drive compliance with your requirements and deliver leading financial solutions.

It’s especially valuable in the context of rate reviews and directed negotiations, where true competition is limited and market intelligence becomes the leverage. In those moments, benchmarking helps you challenge “standard” positions and anchor targets in current market reality.

Credible benchmarking also helps supplier account teams with their own internal business case development and negotiations with their finance and special pricing groups.

How TC2 Helps

TC2 treats benchmarking as a practical deliverable built to change the negotiation, fast.

Because of our broad experience and the on-going nature of our procurement work, we provide clients with an accurate view of the evolving market for IT and network services.  Our consultants are constantly engaged in the negotiation of deals covering nearly all segments of the enterprise market.  This deal flow is key to maintaining accurate and forward-looking information about current market rates and deal terms. Our knowledge of the market and benchmark data represents negotiated terms and pricing solicited in highly competitive conditions, which provides our clients with an accurate and up-to-date view of what is achievable at the leading edge of the market.

We leverage our holistic knowledge of business transactions and translate our benchmarking and deal intelligence into negotiation strategy and positions. The strategy is focused on achieving market-leading pricing and key commercial terms by identifying specific targets, fallbacks, optimal sequencing, and any constraints discovered during the benchmarking process.

Outcomes You Can Rely On

When benchmarking is done well, negotiations get sharper and faster. Stakeholders align sooner because the baseline is shared and the market position is established. Suppliers take your positions more seriously because they’re anchored by comparable enterprise outcomes. And the final agreement is stronger not just in headline economics, but in the constructs that control cost, risk, and commercial flexibility over time.