Content of the contract management policy
21.2 Definition of contract management
21.3 Establishing which contracts must be covered by the contract management process
21.4 The desired maturity level of the contract management process
21.5 The relationship between roles and functions
21.6 Required competencies to fulfill the roles and functions
21.7 Positioning contract management
22 THE PROCESS OWNER CONTRACT MANAGEMENT
22.1 Positioning process ownership
22.2 The role of the process owner
23 IMPLEMENTING CONTRACT MANAGEMENT
23.3 What are the implementation success factors?
23.4 An existing contract administration system: pitfall or success factor?
24 MEASURING, CONTROLLING AND IMPROVING CONTRACT MANAGEMENT
24.1 Measuring, controlling and improving the contract management process
24.2 Measuring, controlling and improving contract management on one contract
24.3 Consulting with colleagues
24.4 Improving contract management
25.3 Differentiating process, policy and systems
Appendix A Possible content of a contract file
Appendix B List of Terms CATS CM version 4
A constantly changing world
Change is nothing new. It is continuous and eternal. Technological and social changes rapidly follow one another, which is why revised policies and goals are coming out of corporate boardrooms at an increasingly faster pace. Even though long-term plans were commonplace in every sector when we published earlier versions of the CATS CM methodology, we now see that the strategy has changed from a comprehensive multi-year plan to a multi-year vision that focuses much more on the options for making additional and faster adjustments.
Nobody can and wants to do it alone
Responding adequately and timely to this fast-changing environment is crucial for the organization’s operations and continuity. Moreover, in recent years both suppliers and clients have been involving more and more parties, resulting in new collaboration models to facilitate this. Both clients and suppliers have seen the number of contracts increase and/or have become part of complex contract chains. There is also an increasing awareness that an organization’s overall contract portfolio has become an ecosystem rather than simply the sum of those contracts. As an ecosystem, the cohesive whole is aimed at delivering added value to the entire system. Consequently, the way the collaboration works towards a joint goal can be more important than the implementation of an objective linked to an individual contract. Creating value is a joint effort. Being open to external influences is essential for the proper functioning of the ecosystem. This requires flexibility and strong control measures on the overall contract portfolio within this ecosystem.
Changing times require different contractual relationships
The acceleration mentioned above also means that the relationship between client and supplier often needs to change as well. As the initial situation in which the contract was created remains the same for increasingly shorter periods, the need to allow for adjustments within the existing contract increases. This growing need for and frequency of change demands contracts that offer scope to do that. Moreover, the contract manager’s input and expertise have only become more urgent during the phases before the finalized contract is signed, which is why this version of the CATS CM methodology describes the contract manager’s role and involvement, in this pre-award phase, even more extensively.
Contract management has become a strategic necessity
Shareholders, legislators and supervising bodies all demand transparency. In public organizations, there is an ever-increasing call for a demonstrable structure of responsibilities. Besides, executive boards and directors in the public domain have gained a better understanding of the fact that entering into contracts can be a risky enterprise. Whereas financial risks used to be the main concern in contracts, today, aspects like
