At the end of the year, many vendor negotiations with Amazon are on the agenda – and these are truly no walk in the park! Because Amazon, of course, has its own interests in mind – not those of the brands. But if you go into the talks well prepared, you have a better chance. Martin Heubel – formerly a vendor manager at Amazon himself and now an independent Amazon consultant – explains in this podcast episode with Valerie what is important in the negotiations. For example, he reveals who should and should not participate in the talks and when, which key figures should underlie the talks and where they can be obtained. He describes the approach and tricks of vendor managers and reveals specific methods that can be used to ountert hem. Newsflash: -     Shein grew by 68 percent in Europe in 2023, with sales of 7.86 billion euros. -     Amazon is starting its Black Week earlier than usual on November 21. -     Amazon has adjusted its requirements and deadlines for products with the Prime logo for the Christmas season. Note from the sponsor ChannelEngine: ChannelEngine is a marketplace technology service provider that was founded in the Netherlands in 2013. It is now active throughout Europe, in the USA, Canada, Australia, Singapore and Dubai. ChannelEngine acts as a marketplace integrator and provides marketplace middleware: Brands and retailers can use it to connect to more than 950 different online marketplaces and social media platforms worldwide. It also offers automated processes for product listings, product ranges, management and fulfillment as well as repricing. ChannelEngine thus makes it easier for its customers to grow faster and more easily on marketplaces. More information is available here or in our webinar with ChannelEngine. You will find the record here Note from the sponsor Taxdoo: On November 1, the Amazon VAT-compliant service provider Avalara terminated its contractual relationship with around 30,000 European Amazon sellers. Those affected by this must act immediately: otherwise, they will certainly fall behind with their November returns in countries such as Spain, France, Italy and Poland. So it's time to choose a new provider, for example the tax tech expert Taxdoo. The good news is that with an existing ID, the change can actually be made within a few weeks, and returns for November can still be made. Taxdoo offers a comprehensive platform for online merchants who have to carry out legally compliant and efficient Value Added Taxreporting and accounting - including for marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay or Zalando. More at Taxdoo or via Jonny Hofberger. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:55 Amazon continues to clear out vendors 05:55 Annual Review Meetings Overview 10:07 Newsflash 21:33 Strategies for Successful Vendor Negotiations 33:31 Understanding True Costs of Serving Amazon 34:41 Sales Growth and Profitability Metrics 36:06 Market Share and Category Visibility 40:31 Investment Decisions and Co-op Marketing 42:11 Performance Analytics and ROI 44:05 Setting the Agenda for Negotiations 47:27 Escalation Strategies in Negotiations 54:30 Data Sources for Vendor Negotiations