Hire an AI supplier cost and payment terms planner

Everything it can hand back

Your task sets the actual outputs. The specialist picks the methods that cover them.

• A cost sheet with one row per part, labour, overhead and factory margin, each cost cut rated by return risk
• Your float in days, a ladder of terms to ask for, and cash by month with and without them
• An opening call script, line-by-line asks for price breaks, what you give back and a fallback with a second factory
• A grade for each product from A to D, a test of your growth plan against cash, and a score out of 100 for growth cash safety

How it does the job well

• Start from the user problem and the evidence for it, then the solution.
• Write decisions down with the reason and the options you rejected.
• Keep scope small enough to ship and learn. Name what is out of scope.
• Define how success will be measured before building.

Mistakes it avoids

• Treating opinions or one loud request as proven demand.
• Specs that skip edge cases, error states or dependencies.
• Roadmaps with dates but no owners or confidence levels.

What a good result looks like

An example, not your task: You buy stock from a factory and your cost per unit is too high.

• Step 1: Cost sheet. One row per part, labour, overhead and factory margin, with a question to ask and the return risk of cutting it.
• Step 2: Terms. Your float in days, a ladder of terms to ask for, and cash by month with and without them.
• Step 3: Negotiation. An opening call, asks by line, what you give back, the factory's likely margin range and a fallback.
• Step 4: Cash limit. Your cash cycle, a grade per product, a stockout test, your growth plan against cash and debt, and a score out of 100.
• Hand-back summary. Each step's file, a table of the agreed prices, price breaks and payment terms, any step not run and why, and every missing item in one list.

How the work is checked

• Each step passed its own checks, or the run stopped at the step that failed and says why.
• The steps ran in order, and each one used the result of the one before.
• Nothing was invented to fill a gap. Every gap is a MISSING: line.
• Nothing was sent, published or paid for without a clear yes.
• States which checks passed, failed or could not run, and names missing inputs.

These checks have not been run against a model yet. Your AI uses them to check its own work.

Capabilities

• Break down the quote. Builds the cost sheet with one row per part, labour, overhead, factory margin and extras. Writes price-break questions for each row.
• Find terms worth asking for. Works out float as terms minus lead time. Builds a ladder from deposit to consignment and shows cash with and without each step.
• Plan the negotiation. Writes the opening call as a partnership in units, line-by-line asks, what you give back, the factory's likely margin range and a fallback.
• Check the growth cash limit. Works out your cash cycle, grades products A to D, tests stockouts and tests your growth plan against cash and debt. Scores it out of 100.

How the role works

1. Checks your task, context and available tools.
2. Picks the methods needed and prepares a work plan.
3. Carries out supported tasks, with each method's limits and review gates.
4. Checks the real deliverables and corrects supported faults.
5. Hands back files, evidence and unresolved gaps.

Your specialist's working setup

Download the base specialist without a task form or account. README.md and SETUP.md explain how to use the folder. SOUL.md defines its scope. INTAKE.md asks missing questions inside your AI. PLAYBOOK.md, SKILLS.md, BEST_PRACTICES.md, CHECKS.md and HANDOFF.md guide the work and its checked deliverables.

Complete associated skills, supporting files and licences are included. Choose only the methods needed for the actual task. Keep context, working files and accepted feedback in your AI project.

Use this specialist through MCP or the API

Call prepare_specialist with role_id cut-your-product-cost-and-turn-supplier-terms-into-cash only. No task is required to load it. Your AI asks what job you need done, what you want back and which relevant context it can use.

For task-led hiring, call find_specialist, explain the suggested specialists and let the user accept or change the team.

Complete ZIP: Download base specialist. API: GET /api/v1/specialists/cut-your-product-cost-and-turn-supplier-terms-into-cash/pack. The host AI supplies its own model, tools and execution; a pack does not connect accounts or run a task.

Inputs and helpful context

The specialist starts from the task brief. Only active methods require their inputs.

For the primary method, when used

• Your product, with a photo or spec sheet
• The factory's quote, the volume it is for and the units you buy a year
• Your current payment terms, production and shipping days
• Part prices you can look up, and quotes from other factories (optional)
• Stock by product, debt, cash and your 12-month growth and ad plan
• Your profit and loss in rough shares (optional)

Tools and access

• Any good chat AI: Any chat AI that reads images and spreadsheets can build the sheet. Attach your spec file and quote.
• Google Sheets: Holds the sheet where you and the factory can both edit the rows, and keeps a history of changes.
• Any good chat AI: Any chat AI can run the float and cash tables. Paste your terms and cash.
• An accountant: Checks your books and the financing, insurance and bank terms in your country.
• Google Sheets: Holds your monthly cash table so you can update it on your close day.
• Any good chat AI: Any chat AI can plan the asks and draft the script. Paste your cost sheet.
• A former buyer in your category: The source paid former procurement heads for an hour of advice to find the factory margin range. Ask for current figures.
• Any good chat AI: Any chat AI can run the cycle and grade your products from a pasted table.
• Shopify: Shows stock by product and sell-through, which is the base for the grades.
• An accountant: Checks the sums and the cost of your debt.

Functions and deliverables

• Supplier cost and payment terms planner: Break down product costs, plan price and payment-term talks, then check cash needs using the terms the supplier actually accepts.
  • A cost sheet with one row per part, labour, overhead and factory margin, each cost cut rated by return risk
  • Your float in days, a ladder of terms to ask for, and cash by month with and without them
  • An opening call script, line-by-line asks for price breaks, what you give back and a fallback with a second factory
  • A grade for each product from A to D, a test of your growth plan against cash, and a score out of 100 for growth cash safety
• Product bill of materials builder: Turn one factory quote into a product bill of materials. Get a cost sheet by part, with each maker and price-break questions to ask.
  • A cost sheet with one row per part, and labor, overhead and factory margin as their own rows
  • Separate rows for freight in, insurance, compliance and the factory's financing cost
  • A list of parts to price again each month, and how to check them
  • The questions to ask the factory about price breaks
• Supplier payment terms planner: Plan your supplier payment terms. Give it your terms, lead time and cash. You get your float in days, terms to ask for and a cost split.
  • Your float in days
  • A ladder of terms to ask for, from the easiest to the hardest
  • A cost-share offer for the factory's financing cost, as a line in the cost sheet
  • Cash left each month after stock, with and without the new terms
  • A risk list: size and color mix errors, tariff swings, credit check
• Factory price-break negotiator: Plan a factory price negotiation from your bill of materials. Get a call script, line-by-line asks, what to give back and a fallback factory.
  • A script for the first call: your plan in units and what you will do with the savings
  • Asks by line: price break volume, labor and overhead, payment terms
  • What you can offer back: forecast, on-time payment, a longer commitment
  • A fallback: a second factory and how to open that talk, plus a margin range to aim inside
• Growth cash limit checker: Share stock, supplier terms and your growth plan. Check funding gaps, stock cover and missing cash facts before deciding what to change.
  • A supported cash bridge and cash-cycle sum, with missing movements shown
  • Custom stock grades where definitions and records support them
  • A funding-gap review or an unresolved verdict
  • Custom planning points with applicable components, assumptions and coverage
• Product context file writer: Share product facts, audience and positioning. Get a reviewed context file that other marketing skills can reference.
  • A product marketing context file
  • A summary of what the file already holds
  • A change log of updates
  • Gaps you still need to fill
  Source: Corey Haines.

Tasks you can use it for

• You buy stock from a factory and your cost per unit is too high.
• Stock uses up your cash before it sells, and growth means ordering more.
• You have a bigger order coming and want price breaks or better payment terms before you commit.

Limits to check before starting

• You sell services or resell stock with no factory quote: ask your accountant to review your cash flow instead.
• You only want to know your total cost to land goods at your door: work from your freight and duty bills with a simple spreadsheet.
• You need tax, loan or legal advice: ask your accountant or a lawyer. This plans your talks and cash, it is not financial advice.

Best way to use this role

Give it one clear outcome, the actual files and a definition of done. Keep the work in one AI project so it can reuse checked context and earlier files.

• Download the handoff pack. It holds HANDOFF.md plus one skill file for each step.
• Give the folder to Claude (in Claude Code, or as files in a Claude Project) and say "Follow HANDOFF.md".
• Attach a photo or spec sheet of the product, along with the quote and your yearly volume.
• When it pauses, run the talks with the factory and write down the new prices, price breaks and payment terms they agree to.
• Bring those figures back as a table: unit price, each price break, deposit, balance, net days and lead time. The final cash check starts from it.
• Ask whoever handles your finances for stock and debt numbers if you do not have them.

Read it as data

Read the complete role setup as JSON. Connect your AI to the AI Blocks MCP library and read aiblocks://roles/cut-your-product-cost-and-turn-supplier-terms-into-cash for its role instructions and pinned sources.

This is a prepared AI role. No task has run. Your AI carries out authorized work using its available tools and reports the actual deliverables and checks.