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Make Every Buyer Negotiate Like Your Best One
aiSource™ is the negotiation assistant that brings aPriori Intelligence and AI together to help sourcing teams act faster, align easily, and consistently deliver more savings.
aiSource in action
From Quote to Confident Close
Every negotiation follows five moves. aiSource gives your team the intelligence and guidance to execute each one with the confidence of your best buyer.Compare
aPriori's should-cost baseline sits beside the supplier quote so you can see exactly where the gap lives — material, machining, overhead — before the first conversation starts.
Prepare
Ask aiSource to explain the assumptions behind each cost line — cycle times, material specs, regional labor — and generate the questions that will define your negotiation strategy.
Negotiate
Feed the supplier's pushback into aiSource. The AI returns structured, fact-based responses that turn what could feel like a margin attack into a shared conversation about cost truth.
Collaborate
Bring sourcing, cost engineering, and design teams into a shared workspace to review supplier feedback, confirm design trade-offs, and align on the final position.
Close
Ask aiSource to generate a negotiation summary — savings captured, cost drivers challenged, outcome vs. target — structured so any buyer can quickly communicate the outcome.
Sourcing Doesn't Have to Be Slow, Fragmented, or Uncertain
01
Boost Profitability Faster
No more waiting on suppliers to define the cost.
aiSource applies AI to aPriori's objective manufacturing and cost intelligence—so you know what it should cost upfront and can consistently capture more savings.
02
Accelerate Sourcing Workflows
No more delays across teams and tools.
Connect sourcing, engineering, and cost expertise in one place—so you can validate assumptions, respond to suppliers, and move negotiations forward faster.
03
Scale Across Your Procurement Organization
No more relying on a few experts to drive results.
aiSource embeds proven sourcing expertise, playbooks, and real-world outcomes built over decades—so every buyer can execute with confidence and deliver consistent results.
How aiSource Makes Every Buyer Your Best One
From aligning your team to preparing your strategy to advising the most effective, fact-based response to your supplier, aiSource puts aPriori's Product Intelligence to work for every sourcing professional on your team.
Bring Clarity to Every Supplier Conversation
Know what to challenge before the conversation starts.Turn supplier quotes and cost data into a clear, negotiation-ready view so you can respond faster, challenge assumptions, and stay in control.
Demo
Ask me about supplier negotiation, RFQs, tooling, or cost breakdowns.
Ask aiSource about sourcing, cost, or negotiation...
Overhead — Evidence Supporting Our Baseline
What aPriori Models
- Total overhead rate of ~$68.55/hr, split between direct (~$49/hr) and indirect (~$19.53/hr)
- Energy cost derived from the machine's actual power draw (41.2 kW) at ~$0.155/kWh
- Results in a direct overhead cost of ~$0.51 per part
How to Use This in the Negotiation
- Ask the supplier to walk through their machine rate build-up: machine price, depreciation schedule, uptime, shift structure, and energy cost
- Challenge any use of a flat shop overhead rate
- Confirm the supplier is running a fiber laser, not an older CO₂ laser
Key Caveats
The part runs at ~95 parts/hour — if the supplier's cycle time is significantly longer, that is a separate lever worth investigating before pushing on overhead
Negotiation Tactics — AP-000-702
Summary of Negotiation Tactics Sequencing
- Open with a collaborative framing and request a cost breakdown
- Focus first on material — utilization and price per kg
- Validate the cutting process and machine technology
- Anchor to a target range of $4.50–$5.50 backed by specific data points
Close with volume and relationship levers to get the supplier across the line
How to Verify Their Claim
Step 1 — Ask for the Machine Rate Build-Up
Step 2 — Cross-Check the Electricity Rate
Step 3 — Validate Machine Power Draw
Step 4 — Quantify the Actual Energy Cost Per Part
How to Respond to the Supplier
Frame it transparently and without accusation:
"We understand energy costs are a real factor, and we've modeled them in our analysis. Based on your machine's power draw and regional electricity rates, energy contributes roughly $0.07 per part. Even accounting for higher local rates, it's difficult to see how energy alone explains the gap between our estimate and your quote. Can you walk us through your full machine rate build-up so we can understand where the difference sits?"
With aiSource, you don't just see the data, you know how to use it.
Stop leaving savings on the table.Close the gap between supplier pricing and should-cost faster, transforming identified opportunities into realized results.
Get Started
Move Faster. Cover More Spend. Realize More Savings.
aiSource helps strategic sourcing teams turn identified opportunities into measurable outcomes by reducing delays, increasing confidence, and scaling expert-level decision making.
50%
less time spent negotiating with suppliers
90%
less time spent preparing negotiation strategies
3x
more in
realized savings
aiSource provided clear guidance on where to focus negotiation efforts, helping to prioritize key opportunities and navigate discussions more effectively. Its ability to start with strategic insights and progressively refine recommendations as supplier feedback becomes available makes it a valuable tool throughout the negotiation process. It is especially valuable for users looking to strengthen their negotiation capabilities and make informed decisions throughout the process.
Built for the Decisions Sourcing Teams Make Every Day
From RFQ strategy to negotiation execution, aiSource helps teams bring manufacturing intelligence into the moments that matter most.Learn More
