Service Levels - Why Customers Should Lay The Groundwork

Originally published in BLG's Technology Law Review, Summer 2007

Even the most dazzling of sales pitches will be little more than an empty promise if the service levels provided aren’t up to scratch. For a customer, making sure a supplier’s performance matches their pitch requires foresight, careful research and detailed drafting from the outset.

Unless your deal is aligned to the performance standards sold to you during the supplier's sales pitch then it will be practically impossible to get your supplier to deliver on its promises once your deal is up and running. Put simply, lay the groundwork up-front on service levels or lose your deal.

Good service levels are easily and objectively measurable and align to the customer's desired business drivers. In addition to establishing service quality, service levels help increase the supplier's accountability by helping to determine the price of the contracted service - a key lever for the customer in any key