A plan for managing the end of a supplier contract should be created when?

Creating an end-of-contract plan during negotiation allows exit procedures, transition responsibilities, and contingency arrangements to be formally built into the contractual agreement. This proactive approach, prescribed by ITIL Supplier Management, ensures both parties understand their obligations and that service continuity is protected long before termination becomes necessary.

Waiting until the contract is about to end is reactive and leaves insufficient time to plan an orderly transition or arrange alternative suppliers without service disruption.

Relying on the Supplier Manager's personal risk assessment introduces a subjective and potentially late trigger rather than embedding exit planning as a standard contractual governance activity.

Creating the plan after the contract is already agreed misses the window to make exit procedures a binding contractual obligation enforceable on the supplier.