Supplier and Contract Management

Course details

Getting best value out of your suppliers doesn’t stop when the ink is still wet on the contract.

In this workshop, you will learn how to manage and measure supplier performance and ensure that they deliver the service levels you need from them; and move beyond contract compliance to increasingly add value and continuous improvement to your work together.

Through improved supplier and contract management, you will get more out of your suppliers and develop more effective business partnerships that are a success for everyone involved.

IS IT RIGHT FOR ME?

If you are involved in the management and monitoring of suppliers then this workshop will provide you with useful tools and information, to help you get the most out of your work together.

This workshop will draw upon participants’ experiences of good and bad supplier management, as well as using expert trainer input from trainers with experience of being suppliers and contract managers.

WHAT WILL I LEARN?

By the end of this course you will be able to:

• Understand and construct simple and effective processes for supplier governance and relationship management.
• Recognise and use the stages of the contract management cycle.
• Use the most appropriate hard and soft performance measures with your suppliers.
• Spot common problems and pitfalls in contract and supplier management and employ effective strategies for dealing with them.

WHAT WILL IT COVER?

Understanding the Stages of Effective Contract and Supplier Management

• Defining contract and supplier management
• The contract management cycle
• Communicating and managing the relationship

The Importance of Relationship Management

• Relationship management styles
• The ‘building blocks’ of an effective supplier relationship
• Practical exercise on relationship management

Common Problems and Pitfalls

• The most common problems and how to spot them
• Managing changes and avoiding scope creep
• Strategies for dealing with common problems
• Dispute resolution

Risks to Effective Contract Delivery

• Identifying risks and their impact/probability
• Managing and mitigating risks
• Risk management activity

Measuring Supplier Performance

• Common performance measures
• Using Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
• Soft measures of performance – satisfaction and attitude
• Choosing the right measure for the situation