Checklist
Before a Provider Renewal
Check performance, charges, AI changes, assets and exit readiness before deciding whether to renew an LSP.
TL;DR
Evaluate renewal against future program requirements rather than recent delivery alone, reconcile invoices and agreed scope with task-level performance and quality evidence, and test asset ownership and exit readiness before choosing to renew, renegotiate, restructure the sourcing model, go to market, or prepare an exit.
Compare task-level service data with the relevant invoices and contract period. Keep the date, version and measurement basis with each provider claim.
Records for the renewal decision
Current agreement and amendments, notice periods, termination, renewal and exit rights.
Twelve months of provider invoices and rate cards, including minimum charges, rush rules and project-management items.
Original and approved revised task due dates; separate provider-attributable misses from changed buyer requests.
Quality sample coverage, scoring method, severity, appeals and remediation/rework history.
Written AI/automation claims and the actual human-control model, workflow changes and commercial treatment.
Translation memories, terminology, style guides and configuration: who owns them, what exports, and under what conditions.
Buyer internal handling effort, volume/content mix, and changes to intake or routing.
Existing transition or exit plans and any handover dependencies.
Where the contract defines them, gather service-level exceptions, penalties or service credits and the evidence used to decide whether they apply.
Compare available on-time delivery and quality outcomes by language pair and content class rather than relying on a single blended average.
Include existing SOPs, escalation instructions, responsibility charts and asset handover terms if they already exist.
What the evidence can and cannot settle
Modeled internal effort is not a provider invoice. Commercial negotiations require contract context and buyer authority; an audit can frame the choice without acting as legal counsel or negotiator.
Decision paths
Renew, renegotiate, restructure the sourcing model, go to market, or prepare an exit. The buyer chooses the path and provider.
If commercial terms or performance records cannot be retrieved, identify which renewal paths remain uncertain before drawing a conclusion.