---
title: Unpacking the Standing Neutral White Paper
description: Learn how to proactively build trust and avoid conflict with your most important supplier contracts in this paper on the power of the Standing Neutral.
image: https://resources.artofprocurement.com/hubfs/Standing%20Neutral%20Whitepaper%20Download.jpg
---

[![Art of Procurement](https://resources.artofprocurement.com/hubfs/Art_of_Procurement_December2019/images/AOP-Blue-Logo-Cropped.png) ![Art of Procurement](https://resources.artofprocurement.com/hubfs/Art_of_Procurement_December2019/images/AOP-Full-Logo-Blue-No-Background.png) ](https://artofprocurement.com)

**Free Download**

## Unpacking the Standing Neutral: A Cost Effective and Common-Sense Approach for Preventing Conflict.

Despite considerable due diligence on the part of businesses and their legal advisors, no contract will ever be able to anticipate all of the macro- and micro-dynamics that change during its term. While some companies wait for problems to arise and then bring in mediators or dispute resolution specialists, and others attempt to renegotiate the contract mid-term, a better approach is available: the standing neutral.

In this whitepaper, co-authored by Kate Vitasek, James P. Groton, and Dan Bumblausakas, and published by the University of Tennessee’s Haslam College of Business, we learn:

- The WHAT and HOW of a standing neutral,
- The costs and benefits of using a standing neutral, including case examples, and
- How to design a dispute prevention, de-escalation and resolution system.

![Standing Neutral Pages](https://resources.artofprocurement.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Standing%20Neutral%20Pages.png?width=820&height=685&name=Standing%20Neutral%20Pages.png "Standing Neutral Pages")

 

**Published By:**

**![Haslam Logo](https://resources.artofprocurement.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Haslam%20Logo.jpg?width=297&name=Haslam%20Logo.jpg)**

 

© 2015 - 2026 Procure Change LLC

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