Managing your suppliers and document management

Here is a little example I experienced today about the usefulness of a good document management system when it comes to negotiating with your suppliers:

Twelve months ago I got a new mobile phone on a 12 month contract. In fact I haggled and managed to get the same price and deal as an 18 month contract. Then, in order to keep up with the latest technology (or just because I like new gadgets?) I diarised a note to pop up 12 months later to remind me that my contract was finished. I could then upgrade to a nice new gadget/phone.

Today, the action popped up in my to-do-list so I rang my mobile supplier to find out what I could upgrade to. He looks at his records and says I'm on an 18 month contract. As I've just had my system remind me to ring up, I'm pretty confident that I'm right and they're wrong. So I browse down the document history for this supplier. I see a document from a year ago that I called 'despatch note'. I click it open and see a scanned copy of the despatch note and lo and behold it states in the description: 12 month contract. Another click and I can send him a copy by email.

A couple of minutes for the operative to now dig deeper into their records, and I'm offered a discount on my bill or a new phone. New gadget now in the mail, due to arrive tomorrow...