Legal & Commercial
Contract Negotiation and Purchasing
Duration: 5 days
Dates in London for 2025
Download Course Profile
9th Jun 2025 - 13th Jun 202528th Jul 2025 - 1st Aug 202522nd Sep 2025 - 26th Sep 202510th Nov 2025 - 14th Nov 2025
Course Overview
Who is the course suitable for?
Course Profile
Competencies
Contract negotiation is an important part of the role of the purchasing professional. This course has been designed to demonstrate how to create value through your negotiations and to improve delegates confidence in planning and conducting them.
The skills and techniques learned will reduce deal cycle-times and achieve cost effective deals. Delegates will also develop an insight into how to manage the contract and ensure an effective ongoing supplier relationship.
This course is suitable for Procurement Managers and professionals who wish to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of their negotiations and reduce deal cycle times. It will also be valuable to contract managers and specialists.
The procurement cycle, Supply Chain Management and the importance of contracts
- Principles of the procurement cycle and its contribution to effective Supply Chain Management
- Supplier appraisal, post-tender appraisal and developing relevant tender documents
- The fundamentals of contracts within the procurement function
- Understanding standard contracts operating in your own organisation
Developing a contract strategy
- Agreeing on your organisation’s contract strategy
- Assessing and selecting different types of contract and the duration
- The importance of creating effective tender documents
- Identifying risks that exist in contract formulation
- Understanding key areas likely to be negotiated when entering contractual relationships with suppliers
Developing your negotiation skills
- Characteristics of a successful negotiator
- The importance of questioning and listening
- Communication skills and developing rapport
- Using silence as a powerful negotiation tool
- Understanding body language
Conducting the negotiation
- Pre-negotiation research: understanding the subject, the contract and the supplier
- Identifying potential concessions
- Effective bargaining techniques
- Identifying a “win-win” result
- Resolving stalemates and conflict resolution
Contract management and reviewing performance
- The need for ongoing supplier performance management
- Identifying and developing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Regular assessment suppliers using Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and other techniques
- Maintaining positive working behaviours and preventing declining supplier performance
- Use tools and techniques for monitoring contractual obligations
At the end of this course, delegates will be able to:
- Understand the procurement cycle, Supply Chain management and contracts
- Prepare your organisations contract strategy
- Select the right contract and terms for each deal
- Conduct negotiations with confidence
- Improve the outcomes of your negotiations
- Manage and review the delivery of the contract, achieving consistent supplier performance