Contract Management
Contracts are the foundation for all business relationships. They are key for managing all business activities and projects. Meanwhile, the increase in the complexity level of many businesses combined with a need to change, have created a real challenge in managing the contract’s valuable information. Contract management is the process that allows all the involved parties to comply with their contractual obligations and preserve their rights to achieve all the objectives. In other words, it is almost a relationship management tool for all the involved parties. Contract knowledge is needed to achieve this! But for whom?
Contract management paves the way for professional management between the customer/buyer and the contractor/seller. It should be a continuous process throughout the contract lifecycle to foresee all future needs and treat all the arisen cases in the project.
Contract Knowledge and Skills
Everybody agrees that good contract managers should have the required contract management knowledge and skills to react effectively and smartly to all contractual issues and critical situations. Simply because it is their job! They are dealing with contracts daily, whether in the tender phase or during the project execution. They are always trying to collaborate with all the stakeholders to make sure everyone meets its obligations and expectations foreseen in the contract. In other words, contract managers are the subject matter experts for all what is related to contracts.
However, who said that only contract managers should have the skills and knowledge to deal with contracts? Most professionals and business practitioners are exposed to situations where they promptly need to understand what is meant by a specific clause in the contract. Yet, contract specialists are not always available for advice. Hence, having the basic knowledge on contracts has become essential for all employees and professionals: project managers, procurement managers, commercial managers etc. They will use these acquired skills in many future issues coming up in their projects.
Contract Management Training for All
Contract management training courses have become popular. Several courses tackle the most used international contract forms like FIDIC and NEC. They are available for all interested professionals regardless of their business domain or job title.
Courses about business negotiation and contract management are also available to provide the trainees with the needed skills, tools and contract knowledge for dealing with contracts at work.
These training courses prepare people for better contract awareness. They serve the purpose of:
- understanding the contract management processes,
- gaining the required skills, tools and confidence to develop business contracts, and
- learning how to build and maintain a good business relationship with all the stakeholders.
The best contract management training courses make sure the trainees realize the importance, complexity and challenges of business contracts. They show how all parties can effectively achieve their objectives through a clear path, fulfilling the contractual obligations and preserving their rights. This should happen smoothly and with the minimum threats, risks and costs.
Conclusions
To sum up, learning about contracts has become vital and a necessity for all professionals. Whether you use contracts at work, daily or just from time to time, a training course is a good step for your professional development and an added value to your business profile. Contract knowledge is a must! Better to acquire it sooner than later.
About AfiTaC
AfiTaC.com is the blog on commercial and contractual subjects for the Project Businesses (Construction, Infrastructure, Oil & Gas, Power & Renewable, Water Supply & Sanitation, etc). Its objective is to stimulate reflection, learning, convergence to balanced contracts and positive dispute resolution. You can subscribe to our newsletter by writing to “newsletter@afitac.com”. You can also connect to our LinkedIn page. Engagement with the readers is what keeps us going. So, don’t hesitate to exchange with us by commenting here below, liking our publication on LinkedIn and writing to us “info@afitac.com”.
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