Vendor Management Tips: Building Relationships

These IT managers offer advice for driving the best deal with vendors while ensuring a
mutually successful relationship.
Don't be afraid to share your priorities with a vendor. If the vendor can help, they
will find a way to provide the best solution. If they can't help, they know they are not part
of the priorities at the time. Let them know you will continue to share with them what
you need and how they may play a role down the road. -- M. Lewis Temares, dean of the
ollege of !ngineering and vice president for IT, "niversity of Miami, oral #ables, $la.
Create a ompetitive environment !at least in the eyes of the vendor" by see#ing
redible alternatives. %endors that know they have secured your business are better able
to sei&e control of the negotiations. 'e wary of (partnerships.( They are vendor's way of
making sure you are going to use them. -- Timothy . )'*ourke, vice president for
computer and information services, "niversity of Miami, oral #ables, $la.
$se vendors to help you build a business ase or persuade reluctant members of your
team. %endors often have white papers and *)I analyses that can help you build a
business case and are very willing to help persuade your team. "sing them to help you
build support also helps them understand your business and refine their proposal so it
better meets your needs. In the best cases, you become partners where success makes
both parties look good. -- +at ,mith, corporate vice president, MI,, ,tiefel Laboratories
Inc., oral #ables, $la.
Treat your potential partners and partners as suh %% not as vendors. There is a real
need to drive contract terms and legal conditions, but in the end, no contract in the world
will ade-uately cover your long-term goals and e.pectations. 'uild a solid, true
collaborative partnership with your vendors. It will pay off in the long run. /hen things
go bad, and they most certainly will, who would you rather have at the table0 1 vendor or
a partner0 -- *ick 2amilton, director, service delivery, isco ,ystems Inc.
&ind a way to build a relationship. +rice isn't the only aspect of the relationship. $ind
creative ways to go beyond the transaction. 1t the university, we involve vendors with
the students via e.ecutive speaking events, scholarships, internships and recruitment.
$urther, the faculty seek sponsored research with the vendor. /e have a person who
works to manage all aspects of these relationships so dealing with the "niversity of
Miami is pleasant and easy to achieve. -- M. Lewis Temares
's# for ongoing responsibility. To be a partner, both parties must act like partners,
which means helping each other beyond the cash e.change. /ill the vendor continue to
help you succeed after the sale0 2ow and where have they done this before0 /hat can
you do to help them be successful beyond 3ust buying their products0 If they cannot think
of ways for you to help them, then the only value they will get is money, and this means
you will spend more for their products or services. -- I.2. Tyler, 4uaker hemicals orp.,
onshohocken, +a.
'lways get ompetitive bids. $rom the outset, be clear that they have to put their best
price on the table. 5o one will get a second chance to rebid. 1nd never, ever give one
vendor's bid to another to beat. -- ,hahri Moin, )scient +harmaceuticals orp., /altham,
Mass.
Be respetful to your vendors. If you have no intention of giving them your business,
don't ask them to participate. -- ,hahri Moin
(oo# to the long term. If the vendor staff at the table are here to stay, ensure that it is a
win-win opportunity. If not, go for the ma. for your company. If they are here to stay,
you'll 3ust pay later for any aggressive short-term gains. -- ,tephen *. ,mith, entity I),
2ospital of the "niversity of +ennsylvania6chief technology officer, "niversity of
+ennsylvania 2ealth ,ystems, +hiladelphia
)egotiate with the top two. 1fter evaluating a number of vendors, conduct contract
negotiations with the final two, not 3ust the final one. That enhances competition, and you
may discover a deal-breaker with the top choice. -- 7avid Lewis, I), 7eseret Mutual
Insurance o., ,alt Lake ity
*ee the other side. Make sure you understand the value at the other side of the table of
each negotiation point. ,ometimes you'll learn that something you find of minimal value
is of ma3or value to the vendor, and often this learning comes away from the negotiating
table. -- ,tephen *. ,mith
Ma#e it a win%win. I have found that when technology vendors commit to a result rather
than a sale, their success is directly tied to my organi&ation's success. This improves the
chemistry of the relationship. It's not 3ust about selling me the best software or hardware,
or about a vendor getting the best margin. It's about two organi&ations getting into a
collaborative and mutually beneficial business outcome. If both partners cannot get value
from the investment 8no matter the scale9, then it is the wrong investment or partner. $or
e.ample, if I am buying an upgrade of software from a vendor, I may ask the vendor to
participate in my payback. Instead of paying the reseller upfront, I have metrics of my
*)I which I share with them: they get paid when certain targets are met. -- !ric
#oldfarb, I) and e.ecutive vice president, +*#-,chult&, 1tlanta
+ffer to help. If you don't buy from the vendor, help them build relationships with the
people you know that may face the issues their products address. This also builds the
relationship without a transaction involved. /hen you go to negotiate with them, they
will be more amenable because of all the help you have provided in the past. -- M. Lewis
Temares
Dollars , Cents
Don't pay for features you won't use. )ffer to pay for them later, if and when you grow
into them. -- *od Traver, senior vice president, technology, *obert !. 5olan o.,
/eatogue, onn.
*tart by defining what the -best deal- means. There are business ob3ectives associated
with every technology-related ac-uisition. There are lots of techni-ues for driving toward
lowest cost, but you need other approaches when the re-uirements involve tight time
frames, continued support or total value. In most cases, metrics with contractual remedies
should be included to be sure the goals are clear and measurable and that the deal was, in
fact, the right one. -- ;oseph 1. +uglisi, group I), !mcor #roup Inc., 5orwalk, onn.
Tie guarantees to money. #uarantees aren't worth anything unless there are monetary
penalties. They must be spelled out in the contract. -- 7avid Lewis
&ous on value. not prie. 'efore a negotiation, determine what is of value to your firm
-- for e.ample, the successful implementation of the system, with users gaining <=>
improvement in time reductions. "se this value analysis to drive the discussions with the
vendor -- can they deliver this value and then align their price to this0 -- I.2. Tyler
Demand proof of onept. If you are seeking value, then you need to see it firsthand. ,o
make the vendor prove it can be done, hopefully by implementing something at your
location with your people and data. )ften this works with appliance-type systems or
infrastructure. If the situation is for something more comple., then you must meet with
users of the firm's products and really do due diligence to see if they are getting the
values you seek. -- I.2. Tyler
Vendor Management Tips: The Details

The devil's in the details when it comes to vendor management. 7on't forget a step with
these tips from IT managers on planning, pricing and contracts.
*tart with a pilot to minimi/e initial spend. ,ee how fle.ible the vendor can be. -- *od
Traver, senior vice president of technology, *obert !. 5olan o., /eatogue, onn.
Develop and follow a strategi 0T plan before ma#ing any long%term deisions on
hardware. software. maintenane and1or onsulting servies. 7ecisions such as lease
or buy, in-house or outsourced, single- or multiyear agreements, upgrade or replace can
only be properly assessed in the conte.t of a strategic plan. -- Timothy . )'*ourke, vice
president for computer and information services, "niversity of Miami, oral #ables, $la.
+n larger purhases we fre2uently 2uote several vendors. as well as ma#e the
vendor aware they are not the only bidder. This assures us that we are getting the best
deal possible. If a vendor is not in line with the other -uotes, we bring it to their attention
in case they mis-uoted and allow a re-uote. -- *ick +elt&, senior vice president, Marcus
? Millichap, !ncino, alif.
3eep them in the loop. Make sure the vendor knows you are also looking at strong,
legitimate competition. -- *od Traver
)etwor# with peers in your industry to understand priing models and trends.
7evelop and propose your own pricing models 8for e.ample, (per business process( or
(volume-based( versus (per seat( or (per server(9 that fit your situation. 1nother angle,
while only suitable for certain types of systems, is value-based pricing -- paying only for
the benefits achieved. Let the vendor react to those proposals. -- *od Traver
Don't let the vendor manage the pro4et. Make sure that someone in your organi&ation
is responsible and accountable for organi&ing the pro3ect and delivering results within
time, scope and budget. -- 7on !ginton, deputy I), city of +hoeni.
5rohibit your tehnial staff from negotiating with a vendor. @our organi&ation's
technical staff is vital in providing technical guidance through the negotiation process,
but your negotiating team is better able to interact with the vendor's sales representative.
1lso, technical staff are normally concerned with things other than finances. -- Timothy
. )'*ourke
6ire a good pro4et manager. 1 professionally certified and e.perienced pro3ect
manager will be accountable to your organi&ation, possess the right skills and be familiar
with the tools and techni-ues for successful vendor negotiation. -- 7on !ginton
Consider establishing a biyearly 0T budget review proess with vendors. and advise
your vendors of the review dates in advance. 1sk them to provide you with two or three
cost optimi&ation proposals 8I don't like (cost savings( -- use (cost optimi&ation( instead9.
Those should convince you and your business that future cooperation with the vendor
will fit within your financial model and budget. 1sk key vendors to attend a short
meeting and present this strategy to you and another member of the senior staff. "sually,
vendors will be able to work out some good deals to impress you, on every meeting.
#ood proposals received from some vendors may be implemented for others. -- 1ndrew
#u&owski, IT manager of information, 1ustralian ouncil for !ducational *esearch,
amberwell
Thin# big. +ut together the biggest deal you can from the outset. The bigger the deal, the
more attention you will get from the most -ualified people on the vendor's staff. @ou can
always scale back the deal depending on how well their terms fit your needs, but you will
have the advantage of (volume( pricing from the start. -- +at ,mith, corporate vice
president of MI,, ,tiefel Laboratories Inc., oral #ables, $la.
*etup is #ey. ,ite preparation and doing an orientation 8making sure everyone has the
hardware6software needed and knows how to use it9 and co-locating vendors with your
own staff is imperative. 2aving vendors in close pro.imity to your staff 8technical and
users9 working on a pro3ect is very beneficial and can help assure that both sides have the
advantage and opportunity to develop a faster and usually better orientation 8to how we
do our business9 and working relationship. ,ometimes the informal communications this
offers is more important than the formal reports and briefings. It also affords a
nonthreatening way to monitor vendors and how hard they are working and it allows you
to know who their real stars are. -- Mark Ma&&a, IT department, state of /isconsin
Timing is everything. It's ama&ing how aggressive public companies become at the end
of the -uarter. "se that to your advantage. -- ,tephen *. ,mith, !ntity I), 2ospital of
the "niversity of +ennsylvania, chief technology officer, "niversity of +ennsylvania
2ealth ,ystem, +hiladelphia
Balane the assignments. )n large comple. pro3ects you need to make sure there is a
conscious effort to balance the work assignments 8long6short, good6bad, hard6easy9
between the assigned staff 8vendor and our business and technical staff9 so that everyone
is given a balanced and varied workload. +artnering with vendor staff can be a great
learning e.perience but if one group feels they are consistently given the toughest
assignments you run the risk of burning people out and increasing your absenteeism and
turnover to say nothing of generating bad blood between your staff and the vendor. --
Mark Ma&&a
Try 7'0. In tackling legacy application conversions, look at enterprise application
integration 8!1I9 tools as a possible solution, especially versions of the !nterprise
,ervice 'us technology. Though originally intended as app-to-app connectivity tools,
many !1I tools work as well for intra-app processes. 'y implementing !1I and /eb
services linking the legacy application to new modular development, you can offload
bite-si&ed programming rewrites a module at a time, gradually turning off legacy
functionality. @ou control the pace of conversion, avoiding typical all-or-nothing
conversion nightmares and preventing vendors from painting you into corners too early in
development. -- 'ob ;ackson, senior vice president, deputy director of systems and
technology, ,edgwick laims Management ,ervices Inc., Memphis
Do your homewor#. Take the time to read the book Getting to Yes, then agree on
operating principles or pre-e.isting standards to base negotiations around with the
vendor. -- #eordie onyngham, I), erebos, ,even 2ills, 1ustralia
6ave a starting point. #et to an agreed price 8the first -uote is always a (starting point(9
then agree to negotiate. This appears to be a standard 1sian negotiating techni-ue. --
#eordie onyngham
Conrete Contrats
Ma#e sure they stay on. It's important that you get the best -ualified vendor staff bid to
do your pro3ect, but it's even more important that you keep them for as long as they are
needed. Many vendors bid their best personnel only to roll them off a pro3ect as soon as
possible and rebid them on another upcoming pro3ect. Incorporate penalties that protect
you from this practice and make sure you identify the key personnel that have to remain
on your pro3ect unless you agree to release them. -- Mark Ma&&a
Ma#e sure your vendor ontrat inludes payment after servies are rendered and
aepted. If possible, leave at least <=> for payment after the last phase of the pro3ect. --
7on !ginton
*eparate out the speifiations and prourement proess from the implementation
proess. Ideally, separate vendors should assist in developing specifications and in
implementing the solution. -- 7on !ginton
Che# renewal statements. /hen a contract contains an autorenewal provision, send a
letter immediately after signing that terminates the contract at the end of the current term,
adding a statement about discussing a renewal prior to the end of the current term. This
strategy prevents a forced continuation should you forget to give timely notice later and it
provides a better negotiating position at renewal time. -- 7avid Lewis, I), 7eseret
Mutual Insurance o., ,alt Lake ity
0nlude usage rates. /hen writing a contract with baseline price, credit for nonusage
and overage for e.cess usage, work with multiple business scenarios to model and see
what rates for credit and e.cess usage will result in optimal contract. -- ,helly *.
,elvara3, )5 ,emiconductor, +hoeni.
+n%time delivery. 'ased on the pro3ect completion success e.perience 8on-time
delivery9, write a longer-term contract to get lower cost and negotiate hard on early
termination. -- ,helly *. ,elvara3
8ath the line items. /hen vendors -uote (pro3ect management( as a line item for
small professional services pro3ects done on your site, don't pay them. 1nd don't let them
mark back up the professional services fees after the -uote. *emind them at the hourly
rate you are paying for professionals, any back-office (pro3ect management( from
vendors should already be embedded in professional fees. -- 'ob ;ackson
(egal 7agles
Contrat renewal tips. Make sure you have at least a A=-day window prior to contract
renewal to use e.ploring alternatives, competitors and pricing. This allows you to
negotiate from an informed position. The volume of sales calls and e-mails re-uires you
to focus on only those solutions that appear on your advance planning goals and business
re-uirements. *eading trade publications and analyst reports helps focus your attention to
the leaders in the space. I depend very much on peer-to-peer feedback to weed out hype
and identify reputable vendors. This includes attending local IT gatherings and
networking opportunities. )ne uni-ue resource is to develop a good relationship with
professional technology salespeople. They tend to move often and choose vendors whose
solutions are superior. This provides me with a higher level of trust when I'm dealing
with someone with whom I've had a positive history of purchases and deployments. --
7avid ;. #raham, senior director of IT, %ignette orp., 1ustin
9et legal sign%off. 'e sure to include your purchasing and legal functions in the review
of any agreements and ask them to review product master agreements, hosting
agreements, master services agreements and statements of work for conflicting terms and
conditions, maintenance provisions and vendor audit provisions. -- ;eff #ott, director of
corporate business systems, 1bbott Laboratories, 1bbott +ark, Ill.
7verything in writing. *emember the mantra that (If it's not in the contract, it's not part
of the deal.( 7on't rely on verbal promises. -- 7ave 5agy, senior director of technical
services information technology, 1bercrombie ? $itch o., 5ew 1lbany, )hio
(oo# at ontrat terms early. ,alespeople will promise you the world. #et a contract
early in the negotiation process and make sure it says the same thing your salesperson
promised you. 7uring the actual contract negotiation process, read each version carefully
to make sure that your terms were not changed in successive versions during the
negotiation. -- +at ,mith
$se the advie of good ounsel. 1 contract is not only about how to get a pro3ect or
service started but also about how to handle a divorce if relations should deteriorate and
re-uire either party to leave the deal. -- 7ave 5agy
Vendor Management Tips: 9etting the Best Deal

&ebruary :;. :<<= 8omputerworld9 -- $rom how to prepare to how to perform at the
bargaining table, negotiation e.perts offer their most effective tips for driving a hard
bargain with technology vendors.
Do >our 6omewor#
3now your vendors. 7oing some background research on your vendors will not only
allow you to assess their strengths: it will help you pinpoint their weaknesses. @ou want
to know e.actly how hungry they are for your business. 1sk for a list of recent contracts
won and lost by the vendor in your *$+. /hat they tell you -- or don't tell you -- can be
very revealing. -- ,usan 1. $riedmann, ,+, The Tradeshow oach
8www.thetradeshowcoach.com9, Lake +lacid, 5.@., and author of Meeting & Event
Planning for Dummies 8$or 7ummies, <==B9. $riedmann works with event planners to
improve their meeting success through coaching, consulting and training.
$se the aounts payable master to identify all of your vendors. $ew IT organi&ations
have a master list of vendors, their products, contract terms and how much is spent.
1lthough it cannot help you determine what you buy, accounts payable can help you
identify all of your vendors. -- 'art +erkins, a Computerworld columnist and managing
partner at Louisville, Cy.-based Leverage +artners Inc., which helps organi&ations invest
well in IT. 2e was previously I) at Tricon #lobal *estaurants Inc. and 7ole $ood o.
ontact him at 'art+erkinsDLeverage+artners.com.
Manage the overall relationship with eah vendor. ,tart by consolidating all contracts
with, I'M, I'M #lobal ,ervices, etc. 5e.t estimate 83ust as vendors do9 how much you
are going to spend with each vendor. $inally, ask each supplier to take E=> out of the
entire (strategic( relationship. -- 'art +erkins
*tart every vendor seletion with a lear understanding of why you want to
underta#e this pro4et. learly articulated motivations form the foundation for vendor
selection, performance metrics and contract terms. Increase your probability of success,
by getting the stakeholders together to articulate and weight the motivations. -- 'art
+erkins
*tep into the vendor's shoes. ,ee yourself and the opportunity offered by your
organi&ation to the vendor from the vendor's perspective. This must be done as a formal
e.ercise and should be supported by a role-play or simulation. @ou will gather more
useful information from doing this than from almost any other preparation activity. -- ;an
+otgieter, !), The 5egotiation 1cademy-!urope Ltd., London
8www.negotiationeurope.com9
Metris are the foundation of your vendor management program. @ou get what you
measure, not what is in the contract. hoose metrics that support your goals and reward
the behavior you want to encourage. -- 'art +erkins
0f you have not already outsoured to 0ndia but are still onsidering offshore
outsouring. evaluate other ountries. India's booming 3ob market has raised salaries
EF> a year, leading to inefficient western conditions, such as high turnover and bad rush
hour traffic. -- 'art +erkins
9et the 5rie Right
*et goals. 1pproach negotiations with a target price in mind. ,et this price by comparing
the per-unit costs paid by your industry's top competitors to the price you're currently
paying. @our vendors should be aiming for that top price. 7on't be satisfied with a E=>
price reduction if your competitors get the same product for G=> less. -- ,usan 1.
$riedmann
)ever offer to split the differene. Instead, try to get the other side to offer to split the
difference. (2ow far apart on this are we0 /e're not that far apart. There must be some
middle ground on which we can both agree.( /hen they offer to split the difference, you
can reluctantly agree to their proposal, which serves their perception that they won.
7anger pointH If you offer to split the difference, they could get you to split the difference
again.
,olutionH #et the other side to offer to split the difference. @ou may be able to get them
to split the difference again. !ven if you don't, you still make them feel that they won. --
4uoted with permission from Secrets of Power Negotiating, by *oger 7awson 8areer
+ress, <===9. ontact *oger 7awson at *og7awsonDaol.com.
More for your money. If your vendor refuses to budge on price, ask them if they'd be
willing to provide e.tra services or support for that price. #ive special consideration to
services that will save you time and money. -- ,usan 1. $riedmann
The lowest prie is not always the best prie for the buyer. /hile aggressive
negotiating makes sense, don't s-uee&e your supplier so hard that they lose money. If
your contract is not profitable to them, you won't get good service and even worse, you
may drive smaller vendors out of business. -- 'art +erkins
The power of money. Is your vendor willing to come down on price if you pay cash0 If
you pay now0 )ftentimes vendors are more than happy to lower prices in order to have
the use of your money immediately. This tactic is particularly effective if vendors are in a
poor cash flow position. -- ,usan 1. $riedmann
Bargaining%Table Tips
3ill them with #indness. The best negotiators are calm, polite and personable. /ork on
building a relationship with your vendors, so that they feel good about going the e.tra
mile on your behalf. Losing your temper or making threats alienates the very people you
want on your side. -- ,usan 1. $riedmann
>ou ma#e the first offer. Most people wait for their counterpart to make an offer and
then try to negotiate the terms. In the vast ma3ority of cases, this is an enormous mistake
8especially if you are the buyer9. 'y throwing out the first offer, you set the (anchor( for
the conversation and force the other side to 3ustify any changes to what you are
proposing. Moreover, a substantial percentage of the time, you will find that if you stick
to your initial terms, you will often get what you ask for because the vendor wants to
keep your business. -- ,hah&ad 'hatti, founder of ,1' 5egotiation !nterprises
8www.saonline.com9 and a former negotiation instructor at 2arvard Law ,chool
)ever say yes to their first offer. /hen you say yes to the first offer, you automatically
trigger two reactions in the other person's mindH *eaction EH /e could have done better.
If they are eager to accept our first proposal, we could have gotten more. *eaction <H
,omething must be wrong. If they are saying yes to a proposal that we didn't think they
would agree to, there must be something going on that we don't understand.
7anger pointH @ou have formed an opinion of what their proposal will be. /hen it's
better than you e.pected, you are so relieved that you make the mistake of saying yes too
-uickly.
,olutionH 7etermine in your mind that you cannot say yes to the first proposal because
you must get the approval of a higher authority. -- *oger 7awson
&rame negotiations appropriately. /e know that individuals are more likely to make
decisions and take action when faced with a potential loss than when faced with a
potential gain. 'e sure to point out what your vendors stand to lose by not doing business
with you as well as pointing out the benefits of doing business with your organi&ation. --
;an +otgieter
>our greatest soure of power: alternatives. The biggest fear of any vendor is always
that you will walk away and choose one of their competitors. 1s a conse-uence, when
negotiating an! contract 8whether it's a new relationship or a renewal of an old one9,
always have alternatives to the party you are negotiating with ready. If you feel like your
counterpart is not offering you the best possible deal, bring up the possibility that you
might go elsewhere and watch their offer improve. -- ,hah&ad 'hatti
5ro4et that you're prepared to wal# away. The 5o. E pressure point in negotiations is
your ability to pro3ect that you are prepared to walk away if you can't get what you want.
7anger pointH @ou have fallen in love with the car or home for which you're negotiating
and the seller knows it.
,olutionH 'efore you go into negotiations, research your options and let the other know
that you have options. It doesn't mean that you won't get the one that you want. It does
mean that you'll be a more powerful negotiator, because the other person will sense that
you have options, and that gives you power. -- *oger 7awson
Do not lie %% ever. /hen we conduct negotiation training, some of our clients ask when
its a good idea to lie in negotiations. $rom a moral perspective, this -uestion is obviously
shocking. !ven from a practical point of view, however, its not a good thing. onsider
your est case scenario if you lieH @ou get away with it, they sign the deal and then they
hate you. 7uring the following weeks, months and years, you will find that your
reputation will take a dramatic hit -- costing you far more on a personal and financial
level then you will ever gain by virtue of the initial lie. To make matters worse, more
often than not, you won't even get the initial deal because they find out you lied before
signing the contract which, of course, does serious harm to your credibility within the
negotiation itself. Lying is never worth the cost. -- ,hah&ad 'hatti
5atiene is a virtue to a negotiator. The longer that you can keep the other side in a
negotiation, the more chance you have of getting what you want. /hen you're beginning
to think that the other side will never come around to your point of view, think of the tiny
tug boats that can move those huge ocean liners around -- if they do it a little bit at a time.
7anger pointH The longer you are in a negotiation, the more likely you are to make
concessions. 'ecause your subconscious mind is saying to you, (I can't walk away from
this empty-handed after all the time I've spent on this.(
,olutionH /hen faced with the temptation to make concessions to the other side, forget
about what you have invested in getting to this point. @ou cannot recoup that whatever
you do. @our only consideration should be, (Is it smart to move forward from here0( --
*oger 7awson
*ilene. In negotiation, it's often what you don't say that makes the biggest impact,
especially when dealing with (hard( issues like numbers or risk allocation. It will take no
more than EF seconds of silence 8and usually less9 before your counterpart gets
uncomfortable with the silence and starts giving you more information or, if you are
already discussing the deal, improves his offer. /hy does this work0 There are many
comple. reasons but, ultimately, it boils down to a couple of thingsH $irst, most people
interpret silence as unhappiness 8think of the (silent treatment( punishment some give to
kids9: and second, if someone is in a position of selling something, they are most nervous
about someone saying no. /hen people don't get information back fast enough, they get
nervous and start filling the (gaps( by speaking themselves. -- ,hah&ad 'hatti
Contrat and Vendor Relation Management?
Course Desription: /ithout -uestion, vendors and contractors are important members
of pro3ect teams. In fact, pro3ect success is -uite often tied directly to the timely
production of their deliverables6solutions. @et, one of the greatest risks to any pro3ect is
the introduction of vendors and contractors. Managing these important resources is
critical. This course provides the tools and techni-ues necessary to assist students in
selecting, contracting and controlling their vendors and contractors.
,ub3ects covered during this course includeH
I )verview of contract and procurement management
I !lements of contract management
I ontract types and terms
I ontract proposal preparation
I ontract development
I Techni-ues for reducing contractor6vendor risks
I Tying deliverables to contracts
I 7etermining risks by contract type
I 7eliverable sign-offs
I 7eveloping a partnering relationship with contractors6vendors
I ontract litigation
The +ro3ect Management knowledge areas from +MI's +ro3ect Management 'ody of
Cnowledge 8+M')C9 areas covered will includeH
I +ro3ect +rocurement Management
I +ro3ect ost Management
I +ro3ect *isk Management
This course is an elective course for the +ML# ertified +ro3ect Manager 8+M9
+rogram. It provides e.cellent preparation for taking the +ro3ect Management
+rofessional 8+M+ J9 e.amination.