Maximising Supplier Relationships

About This Course

For experienced contract managers and senior managers in organisations with a consistent, mature standard of contract management practice, this advanced course will help you to take your contract performance and supplier relationships to the next level.

Taking place over two days, the course covers advanced tools and techniques to develop high performing contracts and effective supplier relationships. With a focus on managing high value and high risk contracts and developing strategic partnerships with your key suppliers, the course builds on the technical and soft skills that contract managers have developed through previous learning and on the job.

You’ll discover ways to communicate your organisation’s strategic objectives to your current and prospective suppliers, to find areas of partnership opportunity. You’ll learn how to develop contracts and relationships for greater innovation, collaboration and sharing of risks and rewards – and we’ll talk you through the legal framework surrounding this to help you understand the art of the possible.

You’ll learn the tools of commercial analysis to understand how the marketplace perceives you and how to influence this to position yourself as a customer of choice. And you’ll develop your personal influencing and negotiation skills through practical workshops.

Delegates on this course will be experience contract managers and senior managers who will typically have attended our Embedding Effective Contract Management course.

Course Outcomes

1. A detailed understanding of levels of governance and how to embed successful governance in complex environments
2. Understand how to build and manage strategic relationships with suppliers at a personal and organisational level by finding and developing areas of mutual value
3. Understand how to engage your supply base and align your strategic objectives with those of your suppliers
4. Understand advanced techniques for supplier engagement, based on personal styles
5. Know how to analyse and influence how suppliers perceive you as a buying organisation
6. Understand how to develop contracts and relationships for greater innovation, collaboration and sharing of risks and rewards
7. Be confident around the change control process and be aware of the legal framework for contractual changes
8. Understand and have practised negotiation techniques
9. Ongoing support from a network of peers we’ll introduce you to at the event