The Pacific Oil Company was established in 1902 and was the leader in the manufacture of a petroleum product, vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). This product was Pacific Oil's main product line and was the main component in the manufacturing of plastics, used in many products. By 1979, Pacific Oil had landed a major contract with Reliant and had established an excellent working partnership over the years. Reliant Corporation was one of Pacific's largest and most valued customers, and Pacific Oil Company wanted to renegotiate its current contract with Reliant Corporation, with the goal of extending it before it expired. Pacific's trading team, Jean Fontaine, Vice President of Marketing for Europe with Paul Gaudin, Marketing Director of VCM as well as representatives Frederick Hauptmann, Senior Director of Purchasing and Egon Zinnser, Regional Vice President for European Operations from The Reliant Corporation, where they will spend nearly two years working through the contract extension. Ultimately, the contract settlement came down to one last item that Pacific wasn't happy with, and could then lose the extension altogether. Facing tough times, Pacific Oil Company was facing economic changes over the next 10 years and demand for its VCM. would face fierce competition. Over the next 20 to 30 months, other VCM manufacturers will produce the raw product to compete directly with the Pacific Oil Company. Supply of the product over the next decade was expected to increase by more than 1,000 million pounds each year, almost doubling over the years. This poses a massive threat to Pacific oil as it negotiates its contracts only five years later and is now under pressure from Reliant to only extend its contract for another three years. Reliant was...... middle of paper ......ine and Gaudin was going to present. Reliant had done its homework on its requirements, potential market weakness and prepared adequately to be able to deal with any changes. Pacific was not as prepared at the negotiating table as Reliant and ultimately found itself stuck on just one element of the renewed control, the option for Reliant to resell any VCM product it had left. This was a major oversight in Kelsey's final advice to secure an important client and give them time to further analyze the demand and impact new manufacturers would bring. ReferenceLewicki, RJ, Saunders, DM and Barry, B. (2010). Negotiation readings, exercises and cases (6th ed.). New York, NY, USA: McGraw-Hill. Lewicki, RJ, Saunders, D.M., & Barry, B. (2011). Negotiation Essentials (5th ed.). New York, NY, USA: McGraw-Hill.