Negotiating Contract Terms, Conditions and Clauses

Thanks to the complexities of contracts today understanding the contents can be no mean feat, furthermore it has to be legally binding. So is it any wonder that so many issues are encountered along the lifeline of the relationship?

It has been said that commercial buyers of IT products and services are locked into a self-defeating pattern of behaviour when it comes to negotiating contract terms and conditions with technology vendors. The reality is that better technology vendor negotiations produce better contracts for a technology project, and better contracts produce better project outcomes.

Relationships need sound foundations, but understanding the mix that equates to an effective contract that meets the business requirements, has room for flexibility on both sides and does the groundwork for an effective and productive relationship, is still a mystery to most working with contracts.

A study found that for 42% of enterprises, the top driver for improvements in the management of contracts is the pressure to better assess and mitigate risks, while nearly 65% of enterprises reported that contract lifecycle management had improved their exposure to financial and legal risk.

This workshop discussed the negotiation of contract terms and conditions and was attended by 26 delegates representing 20 organisations from a wide cross-section of industries including insurance, banking, central government, utilities, voluntary, retail, transport, airlines, leisure, motor and pharmaceuticals.

The workshop considered the following topics:

• Contracts structures and frameworks
• Contracting for measurement, management and governance
• Renegotiating, retendering and transferring contracts
• Balancing assertive negotiation with the need for a good relationship
• Getting the right internal and external team