The Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference provides a unique opportunity to collaborate and connect with the world's leading supply chain executives, all in one place at one time. We'll also acknowledge the accomplishments of those organizations that have established a path toward a successful supply chain future.  The conference combines strategic and tactical Gartner advice from industry analysts and thought leaders who collectively have over 150 years of supply chain and end-user experience. Plus, gain insight from peer exchanges and interactions with leading solution providers at the forefront of the supply chain market.  Also, you'll be able to network with your peers to share insights on real-world strategies, implementations and best practices. Gain access to peers from leading global organizations at a variety of formal and informal networking opportunities, including end-user case studies, workshops and hospitality suites.

Gartner Outsourcing & Vendor Management Summit 2011 (9/12 - 14, Orlando) provides an in-depth exploration of the significant developments and trends shaping vendor and strategic sourcing management practices, as well as the sourcing marketplace.

The Summit provides CIOs, IT Directors, Sourcing Executives, Procurement Managers & Vendor Managers with a useful set of best practices, frameworks and tools to create long-term impact back at the office.

Economic, business and technology changes demand innovative actions from both buyers and providers of IT services in how they form long-term sourcing relationships. In an environment in which consolidation, mergers and acquisitions, and new entrants are the norm, sourcing strategies must become more agile and responsive to change.

At the summit, you'll learn how to:

• Navigate market forces and apply new approaches and objectives for successful outsourcing.
• Establish the governance and strategic management disciplines that bring needed order to the many moving parts of your sourcing ecosystem
• Uncover the disruptive trends that are reshaping the future of IT services
• Move beyond cost take out to business results oriented outcomes
• Learn how to improve control, reduce risk and drive more value from your vendors
• Uncover efficiencies at a time when every budget dollar counts

For those of you within reasonable driving distance of D.C., there’s an upcoming procurement / negotiation workshop in Arlington, Virginia you may be interested in…

On Saturday, March 26^th, I’ll be conducting a full day “Negotiating and Managing Contracts” workshop.  The workshop is being sponsored by the National Association of Purchasing Management – National Capital Area chapter of the Institute for Supply Management.  I’ve given this workshop a number of times to rave reviews (mostly).  The cost is a crazy cheap $249 and you’ll receive a free copy of my Contract Negotiations Handbook.  If you’re interested in attending the workshop (you don't have to be an ISM member), you can contact Theresa Polzin at education@napm-nca.org or at 703-907-5873.  There are a limited number of seats, so register as soon as possible.  Eight CEUs will be awarded for the workshop and can be used toward your ISM certification.

The workshop is intended for participants at all levels of procurement experience from those new to the profession as well as the most experienced negotiator.  The course follows a structured procurement process from beginning to end, explaining each step of the process and focusing on negotiations.  The course also covers contract management, which is a process separate and independent from procurement.  The workshop is hands-on, with participants “learning by doing” as well as learning from each other.

Attendees follow the process of contract negotiation and management from the onset of writing a request for proposal (RFP) to managing a contractor’s performance through a combination of lecture and hands‐on group exercises.  Participants will also learn how to write an effective RFP, negotiate favorable contract terms, and resolve supplier disputes.  After completing the workshop, participants will be able to:

-           Use a Structured Procurement Process that to Purchase a Variety of Different

-           Products and Services

-           Identify Procurement Objectives and Recognize that “Lowest Cost” may not be the Primary Objective

-           Conduct a Competitive Bid that Strengthens the Buyer’s Bargaining Leverage

-           Negotiate Price and Terms that Meet the Needs of the Buyer

-           Transition from Procurement to Contract Management

-           Avoid Basic Contract Management Issues Such as Co‐employment

-           Manage Vendor Disputes to Mitigate Risk

Not really, but it caught your attention...

In contracts that I draft, I try (really, I do) to be as fair and balanced as possible.  However, when it comes to drafting or negotiating an indemnification provision, I tend to be a little more biased to my employer.  Even so, I always wrap-up an indemnification provision with some wording that appears counter-intuitive in that it is absolutely more beneficial to the other contracting party than it is to my employer: “…the foregoing indemnity shall not apply to the extent that the applicable claim resulted from the acts or omissions of a party, its officers, directors, agents, or employees.”

What that wording means is that my employer isn’t going to be indemnified by the other contracting party if my employer did or didn’t do something that ultimately resulted in a claim against my employer.  Sounds risky, because I'm intentionally carving out something that my employer might be indemnified for.  Occasionally, someone will ask why I include the wording because it’s not beneficial to my employer and that someone will also likely ask whether it’s better to leave the wording out and see if the other contracting party asks for like language to be included (if they think of asking for it).

Here’s why…  Over 40 states have enacted legislation that voids certain types of indemnification provisions on the basis that these provisions are against public policy.  Mostly, such statutes are oriented toward construction and prohibit (for public policy reasons) the shifting of the burden of liability from contractor to sub-contractor where the contractor is the cause of the claim (through act or omission).  Despite the orientation to construction, I don’t want to run afoul of my state's anti-indemnity provision, hence I include the above described wording in the indemnification provision of almost every contract type I draft or negotiate.

(A quick Internet search will lead you to scholarly articles that do a much better job of explaining anti-indemnity statues than I do here.  I recommend you read up rather than relying solely on this blog post.) 

There is one simple procurement action—a statement, actually—that I guarantee will totally transform your entire IT organization.  In fact, it may even dramatically transform the customers of IT: the business units.  This procurement action will drive discipline into your IT processes, the business units’ development of business requirements, your SDLC, your project management, your coding, and your testing.  Not only that, it will ultimately save your organization money and time.

The mere utterance of this simple, one-sentence procurement action by a CEO, CIO, CFO, or COO will have far-reaching ripple effects that rapidly drive efficiency and effectiveness into all areas of IT software development and delivery.

Imagine a typical IT organization hamstrung by the business…  Ever-growing IT budget and staff.  Bloated numbers of contractors.  Contractors managing contractors.  Business units slow to develop business requirements, and when they do, the requirements change because they weren’t well thought-out to begin with.  Project managers who spend all of their time manipulating project plans and “re-estimating” rather than getting the job done.  Slipping dates.  Daily changes in priorities.

It’s out of control.

To deal with that rather than to deal with that, things with colorful names like “waterfall,” “cascade,” and “agile” were invented.  Yawn.

How much would you pay to hire consultants to transform all of that?  Hundreds of thousands?  And wouldn’t that just be another worthless exercise which would go nowhere?

Wouldn’t it be great if there was some simple silver bullet?  Something that ratcheted back those double-digit year-over-year IT budget increases?  Something that flattened the proliferation of contractors?  Something that got the business units really engaged and partnering to develop solid, stable business requirements?  Something that got project managers managing deliverables actually being delivered?  Something that didn’t require daily changes in dates and priorities?  Something that drove control and discipline?

Well, here’s your silver bullet in the form of a simple procurement action.  If you’re a CEO, CIO, CFO, or CCO, this is all you have to say...

“From now on, I want at least 50% of all IT professional services engagements to be firm-fixed-price.”

Think about it.

The basic elements of a firm-fixed-price (FFP) contract are specific and detailed requirements, results-based (not resource-based), “all-in” payments based on deliverables, and the contract not subject to any adjustment on the basis of the vendor's cost experience in performance.

Think of going to FFP contracts as an intervention and rehab for your IT organization and business units.  At first, it’s a shock.  “No, I’m sorry, we’re not going to enable you any longer.  We’re not going to give you any more money to feed your addiction to things like agile.”  It’s tough.  You have to be real.  You have to be honest with yourself and your counterparts in the business units.  You have to make tough choices.  And, you have to stay the course to get well.

The transformation will begin immediately.  Of course, at first, staff will try to argue that FFP contracts will cost more or take more time.  (Actually, statistics show otherwise.)  They’ll try to creatively force T&M, level of effort, or cost-reimbursable contracts to appear as FFP types.  They’ll try to redefine what FFP really means.  Don't put up with that, hold fast, and the transformation will grow and will spread.

IT will be forced to re-evaluate its capabilities and the mix of its capabilities...  “Hmmm, to get better requirements, maybe we should re-allocate some of our staff to help the business units develop requirements.  Maybe we should have more project managers and SMEs on staff, have less coders, and contract out more development.  Maybe we should dump all of the staff augmentation firms and independent contractors that we (mis)manage and hire a true software development vendor.”

The business units will be held accountable.  They will slowly wean themselves from the addiction of being able to change requirements and priorities on a moment’s notice.  They will slowly learn to develop solid and stable requirements.  They will slowly take responsibility for testing.  But, they will do those things.

“From now on, I want at least 50% of all IT professional services engagements to be firm-fixed-price.”

That's all you have to say.

Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) February 4, 2011 – Procurement and contract expert Stephen R. Guth is now represented by The TASA Group, a leading provider of expert witnesses to the legal profession. Founded in 1956, The TASA Group provides superior, independent testifying experts within the fields of technology and business, and was recently voted as the “Best Expert Witness Provider” by readers of the New York Law Journal.

Guth has over fifteen-years of procurement and contracting experience representing large, multinational companies. He is an expert in procurement, contract law, and contract interpretation in a variety of spend categories with an emphasis in information technology and hotel contracting. He is a licensed attorney in the District of Columbia and Virginia. Guth is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law (J.D.), University of Maryland University College (M.S., Procurement and Contract Management), and Saint Leo University (B.A., summa cum laude). He holds numerous professional certifications, including Certified Professional in Supply Management, Certified Commercial Contract Manager, Certified Purchasing Manager, and Certified Technology Procurement Executive. Guth has taught graduate-level procurement courses at the University of Maryland University College.

Guth can be booked as an expert witness through The TASA Group online at www.tasanet.com, through a referral specialist by phone at 800-523-2319, or by email at experts@tasanet.com.

Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) January 11, 2011 — In his most recent book, author Stephen R. Guth provides a unique insider’s perspective on the high-stakes complexities of hotel contract negotiations.

In “Hotel Contract Negotiation Tips, Tricks, and Traps,” Guth exposes real-life hotel contract negotiation tactics and ploys in the form of a practical, easy-to-understand handbook that can be used by novices and seasoned industry professionals alike.  Covering topics from attrition to force majeure to walked guests, Guth dissects hotel contract provisions and provides alternate contract language to counter hotel negotiation ploys.  Says Guth, “When negotiating hotel deals, the focus is on dates, rates, and space—and not on the fine print of the contract.  Until something goes wrong.  Then, the hotel contract and the legalese quickly become all-important.”

Based on years of practical experience, the contract negotiation tactics described in Guth’s latest book could save a group tens of thousands of dollars on its next meeting and could protect a group from being hit with even more in liquidated damages.  Guth explains the risks, “Hoteliers are worried about yield management first and groups second.  If heads in beds or other revenue from your group doesn’t materialize, some hotels won’t think twice about hitting you with liquidated damages.  The best defense is a strong contract.”

Guth describes his approach in explaining the included Master Hotel Services Agreement contract template that can also be downloaded from his blog at no charge, “I deconstruct the Master Hotel Services Agreement section-by-section and provision-by-provision, describing and explaining any tips, tricks, or traps.  This book isn’t an academic treatise on hotel contract negotiations—it’s a practical, how-to guide.”

Whether you are a meeting planner, ten-percenter, or just someone who is looking to get a great deal for your next group meeting, this book has something for you.

This latest book by Guth is currently available at Lulu.com and will be available at Amazon.com.  Guth is also the author of “The Contract Negotiation Handbook: An Indispensable Guide for Contract Professionals ,” “The Vendor Management Office: Unleashing the Power of Strategic Sourcing ,” and “Project Procurement Management: A Guide to Structured Procurements .”

Stephen R. Guth, Esq. is the Vice President of Vendor and Legal Services at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.  He has provided negotiation services, as both a buyer and seller, to numerous multinational companies.  Guth is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law, the University of Maryland University College, and Saint Leo University.  He is a Certified Commercial Contract Manager, Certified Purchasing Manager, Certified Professional in Supply Management, and Certified Technology Procurement Executive.

Click here for an excerpt from the book.