Commitment Matters

Effectively managing suppliers is not easy. In many cases, the tools and systems that support supplier management are at best rudimentary. Indeed, a report released this week by the Supply Chain Research Council reveals that Excel spreadsheets 'remain the most commonly used analytical tool'. Not an especially powerful way to gather, analyze or act upon data.

For 20 years, IACCM has been at the forefront in identifying and quantifying the impact of good contract management on business results. Value is achieved in several ways - for example, reducing contract value erosion, supporting contract growth, contributing to reputation and ensuring ethical practices.

We have all witnessed it. Whether it’s our kids and their obsession with computer games and mobile phones, or the way that email has come to dominate our working day, or the extent to which physical meetings have been replaced by conference calls and webinars ... technology continues to transform communications and the nature of human interactions. And that has very real consequences for the quality of life and the value that is generated from relationships.

IACCM has today issued the results of its latest survey into payment terms. This multi-jurisdictional, cross-industry study attracted input from 393 organizations and gathered data from the buyer community, therefore reflecting terms and policies in business-to-business transactions.

Back in 2017, IACCM published a report on the state of contract management software. Since then, its findings have been much cited by analysts and consultants. This is what we said:

A new decade is almost upon us. It’s the decade of RRP - Relationship Resource Planning - when a great wave of efficiency and cost reduction will be achieved through streamlining the management of external relationships.

The ideas behind value engineering are not new. In fact, they go back to the 1940s, when the construction industry in particular was seeking new and more scientific ways to guide its purchasing decisions. It would not be unreasonable to assume that the methodology and its use would have matured by now. But you would be wrong; it has actually gone backwards.

Almost 90% of Procurement and Contract professionals expect major growth in ‘as-a-service’ offerings, with a quarter believing they will rapidly come to dominate the market.*

Energy supplies are fundamental to the functioning of any advanced economy, so blackouts such as that which occurred on a large scale in the UK earlier this month are bound to be big news. However, they should be no surprise.

Twice last week, I heard from business executives that long, complex agreements are a thing of the past. I don't know whether they had been speaking with each other, or perhaps attending the same event, but both were forceful in their view that contracts must change - a sentiment that we strongly echo at IACCM.

Managing supply ecosystems

Adding value through contract management

Is technology destroying contract performance?

Trends in Payment Terms

Contract Management Automation: Making Progress?

Commercial & Contract Management 2020

Value destruction or value for money: sometimes a hard call

As-a-Service: Commercial Model of the Future

Energy in crisis: some commercial realities

The days of the 1,000 page contract are gone

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Commitment Matters

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