# How Commerce Leaders Avoid Renewal Traps and Vendor Drag - with David Cost of Rainbow Apparel

An episode of [The AI in Business Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/670771965), 19 Jun 2026, 18 min.

Audio: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/techemergence/Ed_UpperEdge_Final_Audio_External_David_Cost.mp3?dest-id=151434

Enterprise software costs are rising while vendor performance often isn't, and AI has fundamentally changed what enterprises can credibly threaten to build in-house. In this episode, David Cost, Chief Digital Officer at Rainbow Apparel, explores how enterprise leaders can restructure vendor contracts to maintain exit leverage, eliminate auto-renewal traps, and use AI-enabled build alternatives as a legitimate negotiating tool. The conversation examines the cost-benefit calculus of build versus buy in the AI era, red flags in service-level agreements, and how to negotiate exits from underperforming contracts. This episode is sponsored by UpperEdge. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at go.emerj.com/partner

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