A weekly update on contract and commercial news and trends.
If you are a professional in Contract & Commercial Management, committed to achieving the best possible outcomes from negotiations with all your trading relationships, then ‘Commitment Matters’ is the perfect source of regular articles and posts dedicated to helping you achieve that goal.
A weekly update on contract and commercial news and trends.
Topics: commercial management, contracting excellence, contract management
Posted by Tim Cummins
Sep 21, 2017 6:00:13 AM
An article in Inside Counsel poses the question “Why would company executives want the General Counsel to report to the CFO”? It highlights the following as potential reasons:
Topics: contract /commercial management, commercial management, performance management, organization & people
Commercial management is about understanding markets, then turning that understanding into an appreciation of the capabilities needed to meet market requirements and determining whether those capabilities can be developed, sustained and turned into profitable operations.
Topics: contract /commercial management, commercial management, contracting excellence
Technology lies at the heart of every modern business. Yet increasingly organisations don’t own their technology – they buy in services from a range of providers. The job of the CIO has shifted to that of a business enabler and innovator, knowing less about the technology, but much more about its business impact and needing to understand the requirements of the market.
Topics: commercial management, technology, organization & people
Posted by Tim Cummins
Jun 7, 2017 6:30:40 AM
The elements in what we are calling Industry 4.0 are converging – and already proving disruptive in a growing number of sectors. The impact on commercial practices, supply relationships and contracting will be enormous and those changes are coming fast.
Topics: contract /commercial management, commercial management
For a role that apparently does not exist, commercial management appears remarkably healthy and resilient. Not only are the numbers of commercial managers growing, but so is the pay rate relative to some of the comparable roles within business.
Topics: commercial management
As we enter the new year, it is worth taking a moment to consider where we are coming from. I don’t support the view of many that 2016 was a year to forget. Certainly it was turbulent, unsettling and carried its share of human suffering and distress. Yet those are points on which we should reflect because they represent the challenges – and the opportunities – that we face going forward.
Topics: contract /commercial management, commercial management, contract management
“Today, it seems to me, we are competing on our ability to take on risk.”
Topics: commercial management
'Contract management' and 'commercial management' are terms and job titles that are often used interchangeably. Yet in many environments, they mean different things. As the global body for contract and commercial management, IACCM provides definition for both.
Topics: contract /commercial management, commercial management, contracting excellence
Once we start to erect tribal boundaries, where does it stop? Advanced economies depend on being open, on working to establish accord rather than discord. By working together we create an environment of potential harmony. By excluding others, we create an environment of likely conflict.
Many of us know this – and sadly experience the consequences of 'tribal protectionism' – in our work as contract and commercial experts. Whether the boundaries are internal, between functions or profit centers, or external, between customers and suppliers, they create inefficiencies, they detract from value, and they make our daily work less pleasant. Since our activities focus on trading relationships, current debates about world trade are certainly relevant to us.
Trade lies at the heart of human development. It has enabled progress, yet it has also been the source of imperial expansion and wars. Economic and technical progress cause massive fluctuations in the relevance and importance of different geographic regions and the need for specific skills. At any point in time, this is good news for some, bad news for others.
Given this environment, it is not surprising that the issue of trade lies at the heart of political debate. There will always be a desire by some to expand and by others to protect. Each has valid arguments. But ultimately, I think it is important to reflect on the fact that human development has been driven by our unique capability to trade with each other. It lies at the heart of our economic and social well-being.
Therefore we must be cautious about political leaders who offer protection, but in reality have no sense of the consequences of such protection. It is essential to remember that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The thing we must always ask is "if your policies are implemented, what will the reaction be – and is that something we will welcome?"
And indeed, it is the same question we should always be asking within the context of our own organization or company – are we protecting or are we enabling and which policies will actually have beneficial results?
Topics: contract /commercial management, relationship management, commercial management, international
Tim Cummins
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