FedEx routinely increases its rates. It’s a predictable cycle of general rate increases (GRI) and adjusted surcharges that hit your bottom line. If you allow your shipping agreement to auto-renew, you’re essentially agreeing to absorb these higher transportation costs without a fight. A strategic FedEx contract negotiation is one of the most effective ways to protect your budget. But a successful negotiation starts long before you pick up the phone. This guide, and our comprehensive FedEx Contract Negotiation Checklist, will help you build a compelling, data-driven case for securing the competitive rates your business deserves.
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Our comprehensive 2026 checklist provides a structured approach for shippers looking to secure more favorable pricing. Whether you ship thousands of packages a day or run a mid-sized fulfillment operation, understanding the mechanics behind carrier pricing models allows you to negotiate from a position of strength. Parcel shipping is rarely a one-size-fits-all endeavor, and the intricacies of your agreement dictate the profitability of your supply chain.
Why Your 2026 FedEx Negotiation Matters Now
The parcel shipping industry is undergoing significant transformations. Carriers are prioritizing network efficiency, which means shippers with less desirable package profiles often face steeper surcharges. Negotiating your FedEx contract is not simply about requesting a higher baseline discount; it involves a deep dive into accessorial fees, minimum charges, and the specific tiers of your pricing agreement.
Every year, the announced general rate increase only tells part of the story. While the headline number might be around five or six percent, the actual impact on your shipping spend could be substantially higher due to changes in dimensional weight divisors, delivery area surcharges, and peak season fees. A well-executed negotiation strategy protects your margins against these hidden cost drivers.
Moreover, the growth of e-commerce has led to an unprecedented volume of residential deliveries, which are historically less profitable for carriers than commercial stops. As a result, FedEx continuously adjusts how it penalizes inefficient packaging and non-standard delivery routes. Shippers who proactively manage these variables secure superior rates compared to those who take a passive approach to contract renewal.
How to Analyze Your Shipping Data Before You Negotiate
Before negotiating, you must analyze your current shipping data by profiling your package characteristics, auditing current invoices for errors, and identifying your top accessorial fees. This establishes a clear baseline for your negotiation.
Before you sit down at the negotiation table, you must have a complete understanding of your current shipping profile. Carriers rely heavily on data to determine how profitable your account is to their network. You must have the same level of visibility into your own operations.
1. Profile Your Typical Packages
Your package profile directly influences your shipping costs. Analyze the average weight, dimensions, and zones of your shipments. Are you frequently shipping large, lightweight items? If so, the dimensional weight divisor in your contract will have a massive impact on your final invoice. Compile at least six months of shipping data to identify trends and anomalies.
Pay close attention to your zone distribution. Shipping heavily to high zones (Zone 7 and Zone 8) incurs greater costs. Identifying where your packages are going allows you to determine if a multi-node fulfillment strategy could reduce your average zone and, consequently, your transportation expenses.
2. Audit Every FedEx Invoice
Many businesses leave money on the table simply by failing to audit their carrier invoices. Look for billing errors, late deliveries, and misapplied surcharges. A thorough invoice audit and recovery process not only reclaims lost funds but also highlights recurring fees that you should target during your next contract negotiation.
Invoice auditing reveals patterns in carrier billing that are easy to miss on a day-to-day basis. You might discover that a specific product SKU consistently triggers an oversize fee, signaling a need for either a packaging redesign or a targeted surcharge waiver request.
3. Pinpoint Your Biggest Accessorial Fees
Accessorial fees often make up a surprising percentage of total shipping costs. Review your data to see which surcharges hit your account most frequently. Common culprits include:
- Residential delivery surcharges
- Additional handling fees
- Oversize package fees
- Delivery area surcharges (DAS) and extended delivery area surcharges (EDAS)
- Address correction fees
Knowing which fees impact your business allows you to ask for targeted concessions or waivers rather than settling for a generic discount that fails to address your biggest pain points.
Understanding the Impact of Surcharges
As you prepare for your FedEx contract negotiation, it’s essential to recognize the massive role surcharges play in your total shipping spend. Many businesses focus heavily on base rate discounts, but accessorial fees can easily account for 25% to 40% of a package’s total cost. Fuel surcharges alone often make up a significant portion of that amount. This is why a negotiation strategy that only targets the baseline discount is incomplete. Overlooking these fees means you’re leaving a substantial amount of money on the table and exposing your budget to unpredictable cost increases throughout the year.
Carriers are increasingly using surcharges to maintain network efficiency and profitability. This means shippers with less desirable package profiles—like those with frequent residential deliveries, oversized boxes, or lightweight items subject to dimensional weight pricing—often face the steepest fees. For example, if your shipments regularly trigger additional handling or residential delivery surcharges, these costs can accumulate quickly and erode your margins. Understanding your shipping data is the first step to mitigating these costs. By analyzing your profile, you can see exactly how carrier pricing rules impact your specific operation and identify opportunities for contract optimization.
To effectively negotiate your FedEx agreement, you need to perform a detailed audit of your shipping data to identify which surcharges appear most often on your invoices. This proactive approach allows you to request targeted reductions or waivers on the fees that hurt your bottom line the most, rather than accepting a generic discount that may not address your unique challenges. A thorough invoice audit not only uncovers billing errors but also provides the concrete data needed to build a strong case during negotiations. When you can show your carrier representative exactly how much you’re spending on specific fees, you negotiate from a position of strength.
How to Establish Smart Negotiation Benchmarks
Establishing accurate negotiation benchmarks requires identifying market-competitive rates through external analysis and setting realistic savings goals tailored to your specific shipping profile. Knowing these benchmarks is the foundation of a successful strategy.
Once you understand your data, you need to determine what constitutes a “good” contract for your specific shipping profile. This requires market intelligence and a clear set of objectives.
What Do Competitive FedEx Rates Look Like?
Understanding where your current rates stand relative to the broader market is essential. Carriers will rarely offer you their best pricing upfront. By benchmarking your discounts, minimum charges, and surcharge waivers against similar shippers, you can identify areas where your contract falls short. If you lack the internal resources to perform this benchmarking, partnering with experts who specialize in contract optimization can provide the necessary market visibility.
Benchmarking replaces guesswork with actionable intelligence. When you know what a carrier is willing to offer another shipper with a similar volume and package profile, you can confidently request identical or better terms.
Set Savings Goals You Can Actually Hit
Determine a target savings percentage based on your benchmarking analysis. Be realistic but firm. Understand that carriers need to maintain profitability, so focus your requests on the areas that benefit you the most while remaining viable for the carrier’s network. For example, if you ship primarily to residential addresses, negotiating a lower residential surcharge will yield better results than fighting for a slightly higher base discount on commercial deliveries.
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| Negotiation Phase | Key Objectives | Expected Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1: Data Gathering | Profile package characteristics, audit invoices, and identify top accessorial fees. | Days 1-14 |
| Phase 2: Benchmarking | Compare current rates against market averages and set realistic savings targets. | Days 15-21 |
| Phase 3: Strategy & Proposals | Identify carrier margin drivers, introduce strategic alternatives, and focus on minimum charges. | Days 22-45 |
| Phase 4: Contract Execution | Finalize base discounts, earned discount tiers, DIM divisors, and surcharge mitigations. | Days 46-60 |
| Phase 5: Post-Monitoring | Verify rate implementation and track savings continuously. | Ongoing |
Your Winning FedEx Contract Negotiation Strategy
With your data organized and your goals defined, it is time to develop your negotiation strategy. The way you present your case to FedEx will heavily influence the outcome.
1. Know What Drives FedEx’s Profits
FedEx evaluates accounts based on operating ratio and profitability. High-density commercial deliveries are generally more profitable for carriers than dispersed residential stops. If your shipping profile aligns with the carrier’s efficiency goals, highlight this during your negotiation. If your profile is less ideal, be prepared to discuss how you plan to improve packaging efficiency or consolidate shipments to reduce network strain.
2. Leverage Competing Carrier Bids
Carriers are more motivated to offer aggressive pricing when they know they are competing for your business. Exploring alternative carriers, regional delivery networks, or modal optimization strategies demonstrates that you are actively seeking the best value. Even if you prefer to stay with your current carrier, having a legitimate backup plan strengthens your negotiation leverage.
Do not bluff about moving your volume unless you are genuinely prepared to do so. Carriers can often tell when a shipper lacks the operational agility to switch providers. Develop real relationships with alternative carriers to make your competitive leverage authentic.
3. Don’t Overlook the Minimum Charge
The minimum charge is the absolute floor price a carrier will bill for a shipment, regardless of your negotiated discount. If your base discount reduces the cost of a package to $6.00, but your contract specifies a minimum charge of $8.50, you will pay $8.50. Negotiating a lower minimum charge is critical for businesses that ship lightweight or low-zone packages. Always ensure your minimum reductions keep pace with your base discount increases.
How the Minimum Charge Can Negate Your Discounts
This floor price is one of the most impactful—and often overlooked—parts of a carrier agreement. For example, even if your impressive 40% discount brings a package cost down to $6.00, a minimum charge of $8.50 in your contract means you’ll pay $8.50 every time. For businesses shipping a high volume of lightweight items, this single term can erase a huge portion of your negotiated savings. Make it a priority to negotiate this figure down. A reduction in the minimum charge often provides more value than a small increase in your base discount, especially if your packages frequently hit this floor. This is a key area where a detailed contract optimization strategy pays off.
Benchmark Your Agreement Against the Market
Carriers rarely offer their best rates without a little push. To get the best terms, you need to understand what the market will bear for a shipper with your profile. This means comparing your entire rate structure—from base discounts and minimums to surcharge waivers—against what similar companies are receiving. This process, known as benchmarking, gives you the data-backed confidence to ask for more. Without this external perspective, you’re essentially negotiating in the dark. Knowing how to benchmark discounts and incentives is your most powerful tool for securing a truly competitive deal and identifying where your current contract underperforms.
4. Build a Strong Relationship with Your Carrier Rep
Your carrier representative is more than just an email address; they are your advocate inside the carrier’s organization. Fostering a strong, professional relationship with them can make a significant difference in your negotiation outcomes. A rep who understands your business and views you as a partner is more likely to fight for better terms on your behalf, offer insights into upcoming changes, and flag special programs you might qualify for. This relationship provides a foundation of trust that allows for more candid conversations about your goals and their network needs.
This doesn’t mean you stop exploring your options. In fact, being transparent about your due diligence with other providers is part of a healthy business relationship. It shows you’re a savvy shipper, and it gives your rep the ammunition they need to justify more aggressive pricing to their own leadership. When you approach negotiation as a collaborative effort to find a mutually beneficial agreement, you position yourself for long-term success and a more resilient supply chain through smart carrier diversification.
Putting Your FedEx Contract Negotiation Checklist to Work
To execute your FedEx contract negotiation checklist effectively, you must systematically review base discounts, challenge your dimensional weight divisor, mitigate accessorial surcharges, and adjust your late payment terms.
Use this actionable checklist during your discussions to ensure you cover all necessary contract components.
Push for Better Base and Tiered Discounts
Most contracts utilize a tiered pricing structure based on your rolling shipping volume. Ensure that the revenue bands in your earned discount tiers reflect your realistic shipping projections. If the revenue thresholds are set too high, you will miss out on the best discounts.
- Review base discounts for all service levels used.
- Ensure revenue tiers are achievable and aligned with your growth projections.
- Check the calculation period for earned discounts (e.g., 52-week rolling average versus 13-week).
A sudden dip in volume could drop you into a less favorable tier, instantly increasing your shipping costs. Negotiating a grace period or a longer rolling average can protect you against seasonal fluctuations.
Secure Zone-Based Discounts
Not all shipments are created equal, and where your packages are going matters just as much as what’s inside them. Shipping to a customer in Zone 8 costs significantly more than shipping to one in Zone 2. If your data shows you ship heavily to these higher, more expensive zones, a generic base discount might not be saving you much at all. Analyze your zone distribution and use that information to request targeted discounts for the specific zones that drive the most cost for your business. This data-driven approach shows your carrier you’re a strategic partner. It can also reveal opportunities to reduce distribution and fulfillment costs by optimizing your warehouse locations to lower your average shipping zone over time.
Request Specific Service Level Discounts
A fantastic discount on a service you rarely use is essentially worthless. Before you negotiate, you need to know your service level mix. Are you shipping 80% of your volume via FedEx Ground and only 5% via Priority Overnight? If so, your primary focus should be on securing the best possible rates and terms for your Ground shipments. Don’t let your carrier representative distract you with impressive-sounding discounts on premium express services if that’s not where you spend your money. A successful contract optimization strategy involves pushing for deeper discounts on the specific service levels that make up the bulk of your shipping spend, ensuring your savings are reflected on every invoice.
Secure a Higher DIM Weight Divisor
The DIM divisor dictates when a package will be billed based on its size rather than its actual weight. A larger divisor means a lower billed weight, saving you money. Pushing for a more favorable DIM divisor is one of the most effective ways to save money through FedEx contract negotiation, especially for businesses shipping bulky items.
Adjust the DIM Calculation Threshold
When negotiating your FedEx contract, one of the most impactful strategies is to focus on the dimensional weight (DIM) divisor. This number determines how a package is billed based on its size, and a larger divisor results in a lower billed weight—which means significant cost savings for you. Pushing for a more favorable DIM divisor is especially critical if you ship large, lightweight items. To make a compelling case, you need to benchmark your current divisor against industry standards. Carriers rarely offer their best pricing upfront, so understanding what’s possible for a shipper with your volume and package profile is essential. An expert contract optimization analysis can provide this crucial market intelligence, allowing you to confidently argue for a higher divisor that protects your margins and reduces your overall shipping spend.
Get Surcharges Reduced or Waived
Target the specific accessorial fees you identified during your data analysis phase. Request percentage discounts or complete waivers for your most frequent surcharges.
- Negotiate caps on peak season surcharges.
- Request waivers for additional handling on your most common box sizes.
- Seek reductions on residential and delivery area surcharges.
Negotiate the Fuel Surcharge
The fuel surcharge is often treated as a fixed cost of doing business, but it’s more negotiable than you might think. This fee is calculated as a percentage of your transportation charges and can apply to other surcharges as well, significantly inflating your final bill. Don’t let it be an afterthought in your negotiation. Instead of just accepting the standard rate, you can push for a discount on the fuel surcharge percentage itself or negotiate a cap. Because this fee fluctuates with fuel prices, securing a more favorable calculation method provides a consistent buffer against market volatility. Learning which fees are flexible allows you to discuss them from a position of knowledge and secure meaningful long-term savings.
Analyze All-In Costs for Budget Services
It’s easy to be tempted by the low base rates of budget-friendly services like FedEx Ground Economy, but the sticker price rarely tells the whole story. These services can come with their own unique set of surcharges or higher fees for things like residential delivery, which can quickly erode your initial savings. The only way to know the true “all-in” cost is to perform a detailed analysis of your invoices. A consistent invoice audit will reveal not only billing errors but also the total landed cost per package for each service level. This data highlights which services are actually the most cost-effective for your specific shipping profile, ensuring you don’t overpay for a service that only looks cheap on the surface.
Improve Your Payment Terms and Fees
Carriers have become stricter about enforcing payment terms. Ensure your contract provides a reasonable payment window that aligns with your accounts payable cycle to avoid late payment fees. Negotiating extended terms can improve your cash flow and prevent unnecessary penalties.
Define Your Agreement Term and Termination Clause
The fine print of your contract’s term length and termination clause dictates your flexibility. A long-term agreement might seem stable, but it can lock you into uncompetitive rates if the market shifts. Pay close attention to the language surrounding the contract’s duration, renewal process, and the penalties for ending it early. Your goal is to secure an agreement that provides stability without sacrificing your ability to adapt to changing business needs or better offers from competing carriers. A clear and fair termination clause is your safety net, ensuring you can pivot without facing excessive financial penalties.
Establish a Base Rate Cap
One of the most important protections you can negotiate is a base rate cap. This clause puts a ceiling on how much your main shipping rates can increase during the life of the contract, specifically limiting the impact of the annual General Rate Increase (GRI). While a carrier might announce a 5.9% GRI, a base rate cap could limit your specific increase to 4%, for example. It’s a crucial tool for budget predictability. Remember, this cap typically only applies to the base transportation rates and won’t cover increases in surcharges or other accessorial fees, which must be negotiated separately.
Clarify Agreement Term Length and Termination Fees
Be wary of carriers pushing for long, multi-year contracts. While they may offer slightly better upfront discounts, a three-year term can leave you stuck with unfavorable pricing if your shipping profile changes or a competitor offers a better deal. Aim for a one-year term with an option to renew. This gives you the flexibility to renegotiate annually. Also, scrutinize any termination fees. These penalties for ending a contract early can be so high that they effectively trap you. Push to have these fees reduced or removed entirely to maintain your operational freedom.
Watch for Staggered Expiration Dates
A sneaky detail to watch for in any carrier agreement is staggered expiration dates. Your main contract might have a two-year term, but a critical surcharge waiver or discount could be set to expire after just one year. When that discount disappears, your costs can jump unexpectedly mid-contract. To prevent this, insist that all pricing components, including discounts, waivers, and caps, share the same expiration date as the master agreement. This ensures your pricing remains consistent and predictable for the entire duration of the contract, eliminating unwelcome financial surprises down the road.
Secure Strategic Protections and Incentives
A strong contract goes beyond simple discounts. It should include strategic clauses that protect your business from unexpected costs and reward you for your loyalty and volume. These protections act as a financial buffer, while incentives can provide a direct return on your shipping spend. Think of this part of the negotiation as building a safety net. You want to secure guarantees that protect your service levels and budget, especially during volatile periods, and create opportunities to earn back a portion of your costs when you meet or exceed your shipping volume targets.
Retain Your Right to Service Refunds
Carriers may sometimes offer a slightly higher discount if you agree to waive your right to claim refunds for service failures, also known as the Guaranteed Service Refund (GSR). Don’t take the bait. These refunds for late or missed deliveries are rightfully yours and can add up to a significant amount of money over the course of a year. A consistent invoice audit and recovery process ensures you reclaim every dollar you’re owed for these failures. Giving up this right means you’re paying for a premium service level without any recourse when the carrier doesn’t deliver on its promise.
Negotiate Holiday Shipping Guarantees
Peak season and holiday surcharges can wreak havoc on a shipping budget. These demand-related fees are often announced with little warning and can dramatically increase the cost of every package you send during your busiest time of year. During your negotiation, ask your carrier representative for protection against these volatile price hikes. You can push for a cap on the maximum peak surcharge that can be applied to your account or, if you have enough leverage, request a full waiver. This provides crucial cost certainty during the periods when you need it most.
Ask for Rebates or Deferred Incentives
For high-volume shippers, rebates and deferred incentives are a powerful tool for cost reduction. These programs provide money back once you hit a certain spending threshold over a specific period, usually quarterly or annually. For example, a carrier might offer a 2% rebate on all shipping costs once you exceed $1 million in annual spend. This rewards you for your loyalty and volume, creating a true partnership. If your volume is consistent and substantial, make sure to ask for a tiered rebate structure that provides increasing rewards as your shipping spend grows throughout the year.
Eliminate Restrictive Clauses
Just as important as what’s in your contract is what isn’t. Some carrier agreements include restrictive clauses designed to limit your flexibility and keep you locked into their network. These terms can prevent you from exploring other options or making the best financial decisions for your business. During your negotiation, your goal is to identify and remove any language that hinders your ability to manage your logistics strategy effectively. A truly favorable contract is one that not only provides good rates but also preserves your operational freedom and competitive leverage for the future.
Remove the “Right of First Refusal” Clause
The “Right of First Refusal” is a clause you should always work to eliminate from your contract. This term requires you to present any competitor’s offer to your current carrier, giving them the opportunity to match it before you’re allowed to switch. While it may sound reasonable on the surface, it severely undermines your negotiating power. It makes it difficult to genuinely leverage competitive bids, as other carriers may be hesitant to invest time preparing a proposal if they know it will just be used as a bargaining chip. Removing this clause is essential for maintaining true carrier diversification and keeping your options open.
How to Track Your Performance After a Negotiation
Securing a better contract is a major accomplishment, but the work does not stop once the agreement is signed. You must actively monitor your account to ensure the carrier implements the new pricing correctly.
Verify FedEx Implemented Your New Rates
Mistakes happen. After your new contract goes into effect, conduct a rigorous audit of your first few invoices to confirm that the new base discounts, minimums, and surcharge waivers are being applied accurately. If discrepancies exist, address them immediately with your account representative.
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Keep an Eye on Your Shipping Profile
Your shipping profile will evolve over time. Changes in product design, packaging, or customer demographics can alter your average weight, dimensions, and zone distribution. Regularly review your data to ensure your negotiated terms still provide optimal value. If your profile shifts significantly, it may be time to initiate an off-cycle negotiation to address the new reality.
How Technology Gives You a Negotiation Edge
Negotiating shipping contracts manually with spreadsheets is increasingly difficult given the sheer volume of data involved. Shippers who leverage advanced analytics platforms and automated spend management portals hold a distinct advantage during negotiations. These systems track key performance indicators, monitor carrier compliance, and flag billing discrepancies in real-time, providing irrefutable evidence of your shipping profile.
Technology allows you to run complex scenarios before presenting your requests to FedEx. If the carrier offers a two percent increase in your base discount but simultaneously raises your minimum charge by fifty cents, technology platforms can instantly calculate the net impact on your bottom line. Without these capabilities, businesses often sign agreements that appear beneficial on the surface but ultimately result in higher costs over the life of the contract.
Furthermore, technology bridges the gap between different departments within your organization. Finance, operations, and logistics teams can all access the same centralized data, ensuring that everyone is aligned on the negotiation objectives. This unified front prevents carriers from exploiting informational silos during the negotiation process.
Should You Hire an Expert for Your Negotiation?
Many businesses choose to partner with parcel negotiation experts to navigate the complexities of carrier pricing agreements. These advisors bring proprietary benchmarking data, deep industry knowledge, and specialized modeling software to the table.
Working with an advisory firm ensures that you are asking for the right concessions based on your unique shipping profile. They can simulate how different discount structures and surcharge waivers will impact your bottom line, removing the guesswork from the negotiation process. For businesses spending hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars annually on shipping, the ROI of utilizing professional negotiation support is substantial.
Additionally, external advisors remove the emotion from the negotiation. They interact with carrier representatives daily and understand exactly which levers to pull without damaging the long-term carrier relationship. This professional distance often yields far better results than a shipper negotiating directly.
Your Next Steps for a Better FedEx Contract
The timeline for a successful FedEx contract negotiation can span several months. Do not wait until your current agreement is about to expire or a massive GRI takes effect before taking action. Begin analyzing your data, benchmarking your rates, and developing your strategy today. By approaching your 2026 contract proactively, you will be well-positioned to mitigate cost increases, optimize your shipping spend, and protect your profit margins in an increasingly competitive logistics environment.
Your shipping contract should evolve alongside your business. By treating negotiation as a continuous process rather than a once-a-year event, you maintain control over your transportation budget and ensure that your carrier agreement supports your long-term growth objectives.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I start preparing for a 2026 FedEx contract negotiation?
You should begin preparing at least three to six months before you intend to finalize the new agreement. This allows sufficient time to gather shipping data, perform market benchmarking, model different pricing scenarios, and conduct multiple rounds of discussions with the carrier.
What is the most important factor to consider during parcel negotiations?
While base discounts are highly visible, the minimum charge and your specific accessorial fees often have a larger impact on your total shipping costs. The most important factor is understanding your unique shipping profile so you can negotiate terms that target your specific cost drivers.
Can I negotiate my FedEx contract before it expires?
Yes. You are not required to wait for an expiration date to request a pricing review. If your shipping volume has increased, your package characteristics have changed, or you have received a competitive offer from another carrier, you have valid grounds to initiate an early negotiation.
How does the dimensional weight (DIM) divisor affect my FedEx rates?
The DIM divisor determines how FedEx calculates the billable weight of a package based on its size rather than actual weight. A higher divisor results in a lower billed weight, saving you money, which makes it a critical point during your contract negotiation.
Why is auditing current invoices important before negotiating?
Auditing your current invoices reveals hidden billing errors, late delivery refunds, and misapplied surcharges. Identifying these recurring fees allows you to request targeted concessions or waivers during your negotiation rather than settling for generic base discounts.
Key Takeaways
- Build your case with data: Before you negotiate, you must understand your own shipping profile. Analyze your package characteristics, audit invoices for recurring errors, and pinpoint your top accessorial fees to create a strong foundation for your requests.
- Look beyond the base discount: The most impactful savings often come from the fine print. Prioritize negotiating a lower minimum charge, a better dimensional weight (DIM) divisor, and waivers for the specific surcharges that hurt your budget the most.
- Treat negotiation as a cycle, not a one-time event: A signed contract is just the start. You must verify that your new rates are correctly implemented on invoices and continuously monitor your shipping profile to ensure the agreement remains favorable over time.