Large deals are slow because scrutiny increases with value
The bigger the contract, the more gates appear.
Higher value deals trigger:
- deeper procurement review
- more legal scrutiny
- finance governance and risk checks
- stricter approval routing
- longer vendor onboarding requirements
So it sounds counterintuitive that Marketplace deals can move faster even at higher contract values.
But they do, for a simple reason:
Marketplace reduces process complexity at the same time value increases scrutiny.
Quick takeaway: Large deals move faster on Marketplace because the buying path is familiar, governed, and easier to approve than direct contracting.
What actually slows down large contracts
Large enterprise deals usually slow down because of:
- new vendor onboarding and supplier risk checks
- long legal redlines on MSAs and addendums
- procurement committees and competitive justification
- finance controls around payment, invoicing, and governance
- internal approvals tied to unfamiliar contracting structures
Value drives scrutiny, but process drives timeline.
Marketplace helps by reducing the process load that comes with scrutiny.
1) Marketplace keeps the purchase inside an approved AWS procurement route
Enterprises already have frameworks for AWS spend.
They understand:
- how AWS purchases are routed
- who approves AWS spend
- how billing is tracked and allocated
- what governance controls apply
When a high-value deal is purchased through Marketplace, it often fits into these established AWS frameworks.
So the customer is not creating a brand-new procurement pattern for a big purchase.
They are using a known route.
That familiarity is a major reason large Marketplace deals move faster.
2) Large deals benefit more from reduced vendor onboarding
Vendor onboarding can be painful for any deal.
For large deals, it can be worse because supplier risk review becomes stricter.
Direct purchase may require:
- extensive vendor risk documentation
- multiple internal compliance checkpoints
- supplier approval committees
- long onboarding queues
Marketplace often reduces the “new vendor” event because AWS is already approved as a supplier.
So instead of onboarding the partner as a new vendor for a large contract, the buyer routes the transaction through AWS.
When you remove onboarding drag from a large deal, you remove a huge source of delay.
3) Private Offers provide enterprise customization without slowing the deal
Large deals almost always require customization:
- pricing tiers and volume adjustments
- multi-year terms
- phased scope and deliverables
- renewal alignment to fiscal calendars
- structured commercial terms
In direct sales, customization often triggers long negotiation cycles, approval loops, and legal redlines.
Private offers let you customize the deal while keeping the transaction within Marketplace.
That means you get enterprise flexibility without enterprise contracting chaos.
For large deals, this is especially powerful because customization is non-negotiable.
4) Finance prefers consolidated billing, especially at high spend
The higher the spend, the more finance cares about governance and reconciliation.
Direct purchase creates additional complexity:
- new vendor record and payment workflows
- new invoice approvals and reconciliation processes
- fragmented spend tracking across vendors
Marketplace reduces that complexity because spend stays consolidated under AWS.
For finance, that means:
- cleaner forecasting
- clearer spend visibility
- reduced vendor sprawl
- easier governance of a large purchase
When finance sees less operational risk, approval speeds up even at higher values.
5) Marketplace reduces exceptions, and exceptions are what slow large deals
Large deals slow down when exceptions stack up:
- non-standard billing terms
- unusual contract language
- unclear scope
- complex payment schedules
- one-off approval routing
Marketplace and private offers reduce exceptions by packaging the purchase in a structured, familiar format.
In many enterprises, “structured and familiar” moves faster than “custom and uncertain,” even when the dollar value is high.
This is one of the biggest reasons large Marketplace deals can close faster than direct deals.
Mini example: why a larger deal can still move quickly
A partner is negotiating a high-value enterprise agreement. The customer wants custom pricing, a multi-year term, and scope clarity for procurement.
With direct contracting, the deal would trigger heavy legal negotiation and finance setup.
The partner issues a private offer through Marketplace with the exact pricing, term, and scope.
The customer routes the purchase through their AWS procurement path with consolidated billing.
Result: scrutiny still exists, but the process is smoother, so the deal closes faster than a direct agreement.
When you should explicitly position Marketplace for large deals
Marketplace should be positioned early in any large deal where:
- procurement is strict
- finance wants consolidated billing
- legal review cycles are slow
- vendor onboarding is painful
- the customer prefers AWS purchasing paths
- the deal requires customized commercial structure
Large deals do not need more persuasion. They need cleaner execution.
Marketplace supports cleaner execution.
Practical checklist: how to close larger Marketplace deals faster
Use this playbook to keep high-value deals moving.
- Introduce Marketplace in discovery for large accounts
- Ask: “Do you prefer large purchases through AWS to simplify approvals and billing?”
- Default to private offers for any enterprise-level pricing, term, or scope requirement
- Align term timing to fiscal calendars and renewal windows early
- Provide the champion a forwardable internal note: “This can be purchased through AWS Marketplace as a private offer, keeping billing consolidated and approvals aligned to our AWS process”
High-value deals move fast when you remove uncertainty.
Closing thought
Large contracts are supposed to move slower because scrutiny increases with spend.
AWS Marketplace changes that dynamic by reducing process complexity at the exact moment scrutiny rises.
Marketplace deals can move faster even at larger contract values because they align to approved AWS procurement routes, reduce new vendor onboarding drag, keep billing consolidated for finance comfort, and use private offers to handle customization without restarting negotiation cycles.
If you want larger enterprise deals without longer timelines, Marketplace is one of the strongest levers AWS partners can use.
Marketeering helps AWS partners close larger deals faster by operationalizing Marketplace private offers, aligning commercial packaging to enterprise approvals, and enabling co-sell motions that reduce friction across procurement, legal, and finance.
