Book excerpt: In order to buy well it is important to understand a few basic principles and apply a series of tools and approaches in given situations. The Buyer's Toolkit distills all the best practice tools for professional buying and negotiating into a simple, jargon-free framework that can be picked up and applied by anyone who buys. The book seeks to transform how individuals view and practise buying so they know when to influence a situation and what to do to buy well. The Buyer's Toolkit has a simple chapter layout, contains graphics and models, and a simple flow of tools through the book with an overarching framework, that glues them together. Covering different buying scenarios, understanding and defining the requirements, choosing the right deal and supplier, negotiation, managing the contract and the suppliers, fixing problems and sustainable buying, this comprehensive guide will help you boost your advantage as a buyer.