{"id":3576,"date":"2026-08-17T14:32:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T12:32:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eveneum.com\/blog\/\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T14:32:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T12:32:34","slug":"portfolio-zachodzacego-slonca-sunset-portfolio-jak-negocjowac-gdy-wolumeny-znikaja","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eveneum.com\/en\/blog\/portfolio-zachodzacego-slonca-sunset-portfolio-jak-negocjowac-gdy-wolumeny-znikaja\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunset Portfolio: How to Negotiate When Volumes Are Disappearing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sunset Portfolio: How to Negotiate When Volumes Are Disappearing<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

During a recent negotiation training for a group of experienced Commodity Managers in China, one discussion turned out to be particularly challenging \u2013 and particularly familiar to many of the participants. It's a situation that keeps showing up after mergers, acquisitions, or make-or-buy decisions: volumes are going down because production is being insourced, the supplier knows exactly why, and procurement is still expected to deliver annual cost reductions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This situation can be described as a Sunset Portfolio. Sunset Portfolio<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a Sunset Portfolio<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A Sunset Portfolio can usually be recognised by three characteristics, sometimes appearing together:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • declining volumes,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • insourcing in progress,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • limited future business.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    In this context, no supplier has a real reason to invest in VA\/VE workshops or productivity initiatives \u2013 they know the business is disappearing. Traditional cost-negotiation approaches simply stop working, because their entire logic depends on both sides having an interest in the long-term relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Why traditional approaches fail<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    A classic cost-negotiation scenario assumes a shared interest: the supplier invests time and resources into improving the process, expecting the volume to stay stable or grow in the following years. In a Sunset Portfolio, this mechanism breaks down. A supplier who knows the relationship is ending has no reason to play by the same rules \u2013 and it's hard to blame them for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What options do buyers actually have<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    During the workshop in China, participants worked through a list of approaches worth considering in this type of situation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Challenge the supplier's alternative<\/strong> \u2013 it's worth checking whether the scenario the supplier refers to is really a viable alternative for them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      • Use portfolio rationalization as leverage<\/strong> \u2013 decisions about transferring production from other suppliers can become part of the negotiation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        • Use contribution margin as leverage<\/strong> \u2013 a supplier for whom even a shrinking volume still covers fixed costs has a different reference point than buyers often assume.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
            \n
          • Negotiate the phase-out conditions, not only piece price<\/strong> \u2013 timeline, minimum order quantities, line-maintenance costs \u2013 all of this is negotiable, just like price.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
              \n
            • Consider aftermarket options for the supplier<\/strong> \u2013 what looks like a decline to us may open up a different sales channel for them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                \n
              • Escalate the conversation above sales level<\/strong> \u2013 in a Sunset Portfolio, the person on the sales side often has very limited room to manoeuvre.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                Building a better playbook together<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                The Sunset Portfolio keeps coming back in negotiation trainings with buyers, regardless of industry or region \u2013 supply chain shifts, insourcing, and supplier portfolio consolidation mean more and more procurement teams are facing a similar challenge. If you've managed a portfolio like this before \u2013 what worked, and what didn't? Experiences like these, put together, are exactly the material the best practical negotiation playbooks are built from.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                Portfolio Zachodz\u0105cego S\u0142o\u0144ca – Sunset Portfolio: jak negocjowa\u0107, gdy wolumeny znikaj\u0105 Podczas niedawnego szkolenia negocjacyjnego dla do\u015bwiadczonej grupy Commodity Manager\u00f3w w Chinach jeden z w\u0105tk\u00f3w dyskusji okaza\u0142 si\u0119 szczeg\u00f3lnie trudny i szczeg\u00f3lnie cz\u0119sto powracaj\u0105cy w praktyce uczestnik\u00f3w. Chodzi o sytuacj\u0119, kt\u00f3r\u0105 coraz \u0142atwiej rozpozna\u0107 po fuzjach, przej\u0119ciach czy decyzjach make-or-buy: wolumeny spadaj\u0105, bo produkcja wraca […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2248,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[72,37,60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-zarzadzanie-ryzykiem","category-doradztwo-biznesowe","category-lancuch-dostaw"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eveneum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eveneum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eveneum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eveneum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eveneum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3576"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eveneum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3576\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3604,"href":"https:\/\/eveneum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3576\/revisions\/3604"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eveneum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eveneum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eveneum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eveneum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}