Let your network be managed with a measured and documented system.
Target tracking, formal-notice procedures, and periodic legal maintenance of contracts across the distribution network: a framework that both strengthens the relationship and prepares for termination.
An unmanaged network accumulates lawsuits
Most distribution relationships run on contracts left untouched for years, promises given verbally, and notice mechanisms that were never invoked. Then, one day, termination becomes necessary and the file is empty: where are the targets recorded, how was performance measured, when was the distributor warned? A goodwill-indemnity claim grows precisely in this gap.
Performance framework
Measurable targets (turnover, product mix, market development) must be set out in writing in the contract or in annual annexes; evaluation must be conducted periodically and documented. A graduated mechanism for deviations: meeting record → written reminder → formal notice → outcome. This chain both repairs the relationship and, where it cannot be repaired, supports the termination.
Contract maintenance calendar
An annual revision round: updating the price and territory annexes, incorporating regulatory changes (competition, data, product), and tracking automatic-renewal dates and termination windows. An inventory of special terms across the network must be maintained — negotiation memory becomes institutionalised.
The legal frame of termination
In Türkiye, exclusive distributors can claim goodwill indemnity by analogy with Article 122 of the Commercial Code (No 6102) — settled case law extends the agency rule to distributorships that delivered a comparable customer benefit. In Germany, §89b HGB does the same job and cannot be waived in advance. Both regimes reward the party that can prove what actually happened in the relationship; both punish the principal whose file is empty. Termination notice periods, minimum-duration clauses and post-termination duties (stock take-back, customer data handover) sit on top of this layer. A performance framework is therefore not HR paperwork: it is the evidence that later decides the indemnity claim.
From inventory to maintenance round
The set-up runs in four steps. Network inventory: every dealer and distributor contract is brought onto a single board with its term, its special conditions and its renewal date. Health check: each relationship is scored on the state of its documentation — are there target annexes, is the evaluation on record, what does the warning history look like? Template set: the target annex, the periodic evaluation form, the graduated notice texts and the meeting minute, drafted against the principles the Turkish Code of Obligations (No. 6098) applies to the termination of continuing obligations. Maintenance round: once a year the legislation and the price and territory annexes are brought up to date. What you get: the inventory board, the template set and an escalation guide.
Who engages us, and what you receive
The framework is built most often by manufacturers running multi-country dealer networks, importers restructuring underperforming territories, and principals preparing a difficult termination on a documented basis.
Deliverables: target-and-review annex templates, meeting-record and notice forms, an escalation ladder with time limits, and a network file structure that keeps every distributor's history retrievable. For networks spanning both countries, the documents are built bilingually and aligned with the cross-border network architecture.
We are by your side for the Network Performance & Revision Framework
We set up a performance-documentation framework for your network, leave you notice templates and an escalation guide, and run the annual maintenance round as part of our contract management service. When termination becomes unavoidable, the file stands ready, strategically.
Other Applications of This Service
Contract Management — our other specialised solutions in this area.
Matter Connections
The focus areas, practice areas, desks and legislation connected with this sub-service.
Our Matters in This Service
The anonymised examples of our work that relate to this service.
Uninterrupted legal counsel for a multinational supplier
Retainer-based support across day-to-day commercial operations, contract management and compliance processes.
Review the matter →ESG & ComplianceSupply chain due diligence (LkSG) compliance programme
Risk assessment and compliance architecture for a Turkish supplier network under the German LkSG.
Review the matter →Market AccessEstablishing a distribution network in Türkiye
Designing a market entry strategy, distributorship agreements and competition compliance.
Review the matter →The Team Delivering This Service
With our multilingual team of lawyers, well-versed in Turkish and German law, we are by your side.
Mehmet Köksal
Founder and Managing PartnerIstanbul · Berlin · KyreniaProfile →
Kübra Köksal-Yılmaz
PartnerBerlin · İstanbulProfile →
Gül Efem
Of CounselİstanbulProfile →
Herdem Belen
Of CounselİstanbulProfile →
Sven Köksal
Legal EngineerBerlin · İstanbulProfile →It can create risk in terms of discrimination claims; at the very least you need to know the inventory. A standardisation round usually pays for itself.
Yes — through annual target protocols: mutually signed annexes with clear measurement rules. Packaging them into renewal periods rather than imposing them unilaterally reduces resistance.
There is no magic number; what matters is the gravity of the breach, the reasonableness of the time allowed and the documentation chain. A gradual, consistent process matters more than the count.
Network Performance & Revision Framework — get the right legal support.
Let us identify the right solution together, drawing on our experience in Türkiye and the DACH region.