Looking for an Excel alternative to compare supplier offers and manage your procurement negotiations? Nestor Software brings multi-criteria benchmarking and live negotiation together in a single platform.
Excel lets you build comparison tables tailored to your needs. Nestor Software supports you in the next step: improving offers by putting several suppliers in competition simultaneously, based on criteria and weightings known to all.
This page compares the two approaches to help you choose the one that fits your consultations.
Quick comparison: Excel vs Nestor Software
| Criterion | Excel | Nestor Software |
| Multi-criteria comparison | Formulas and weightings to build in the spreadsheet | Multi-criteria benchmark with weightings, scoring and ranking |
| Offer updates | To be handled through data entry, import or automation | Offers updated by suppliers during the live negotiation |
| Simultaneous negotiation | Supplier exchanges to be organized with additional tools | Negotiation session bringing several suppliers together simultaneously |
| Transparent rules | Criteria and rules to be communicated to suppliers | Criteria and weightings visible to participants |
| Negotiation management | Tracking table to design according to your needs | Buyer and supplier cockpits, timer and visual indicators |
Excel remains relevant for one-off analyses, custom simulations or comparing offers in a format you already master.
For a simple consultation, with few suppliers and few offer revisions, a well-structured spreadsheet may be enough. You remain free to define your formulas, criteria and layout.
The need for an alternative arises when you want to track several evolving offers and run a simultaneous negotiation within a framework shared with your suppliers.
When to choose Nestor Software as an Excel alternative
Nestor Software is designed for procurement teams that want to structure offer comparison and run a negotiation with several suppliers simultaneously.
This approach is particularly relevant when several suppliers can meet the same need and your decision is based on several criteria: price, lead times, quality or service terms. You define the criteria and their weightings to evaluate offers according to your priorities.
During the live negotiation, suppliers can improve their proposals within a common framework. The buyer follows the session from their cockpit and relies on the multi-criteria ranking to inform their decision.
You move from a comparison spreadsheet to an augmented negotiation process, with transparent rules and a decision based on the overall value of the offers.
How does augmented negotiation work?
1. Structure the consultation
Define the criteria that matter for your purchase and their weightings. This framework lets you evaluate suppliers against the same rules.
2. Compare offers
The multi-criteria benchmark produces a score and a ranking based on your priorities. You have a basis for comparison before the negotiation begins.
3. Run the live negotiation
Suppliers take part simultaneously and can improve their proposals. The buyer and supplier cockpits, the timer and the visual indicators support the session.
4. Inform the decision
Analyze the offers and their multi-criteria ranking at the end of the negotiation. You keep control of the final choice, taking overall value into account.
Example: negotiating a packaging purchase with several suppliers
Let’s take an illustrative example: an SME consults four packaging suppliers able to meet the same specifications. It wants to compare their proposals on price, delivery time and technical characteristics.
With Excel, the buyer can build a weighted grid and compare the offers. They then need to organize the negotiation exchanges and enter the new proposals into their spreadsheet.
With Nestor Software, they define their criteria and weightings, then compare the offers in the multi-criteria benchmark. They can then bring the suppliers together in a live negotiation session, where each one improves its proposal according to the communicated rules.
One supplier may improve its price, another its delivery time. The ranking takes the weighted criteria into account: the cheapest offer is therefore not necessarily the one with the best overall score.
The buyer relies on this comparison to make their decision. This example describes a possible use case and does not represent a customer result.
Discover Nestor Software
Want to go beyond your comparison spreadsheets? Discover how Nestor Software helps you compare offers and run a multi-criteria negotiation with your suppliers. Request a personalized demo to explore your use case.