Toby is an international sourcing category buyer within a third sector (not-for-profit) organisation.

An adversarial (win–lose) negotiation approach is most appropriate where the relationship is short-term and transactional, and where long-term collaboration is not required. In such situations, the buyer may focus on maximising immediate value rather than building trust or joint efficiencies. A monopoly market places power with the supplier, making adversarial tactics ineffective. Where there are mutual objectives for efficiencies, an integrative (win–win) approach is more suitable. CIPS makes clear that adversarial negotiation is not appropriate in all negotiations, only where conditions such as short-term focus, low relationship dependency, and buyer power exist.