Stand-by Contract Manager
Small and mid-sized companies rarely have cases that utilize a contract manager at 100% capacity.
What is a stand-by contract manager?
It makes sense to have a competent point of contact in the company to answer questions about the correct procedure and interpretation of contract clauses. for this purpose, larger companies have their own department, which is usually attached to the legal department. Smaller and medium-sized companies, however, rarely have so many procedures that would utilize a contract manager to full capacity.
Contract Tools GmbH offers you a custom-fit solution. We have the expert, your employees have the questions. In our cooperation model, your employees can consult an expert at any time to discuss the best course of action. Be it a strategic approach, a response to a letter, or even the drafting of a claim. You only pay when we are consulted.
Why is a contract manager becoming increasingly important?
It is becoming increasingly apparent that there has been and continues to be a massive upgrade in the area of contract management, particularly on the part of the customer. Contracts are becoming more frequent in which unfair clauses mean that the contractor himself cannot enforce justified claims.
In addition, there is another imbalance: the contractor's employees spend most of their time on planning and production. Delivery time is always a critical factor, so quick decisions are required. The purchaser's employees, on the other hand, have little other task than to check that what they want is delivered. To enforce their goals, they have many times more time and resources. Very often, for example, they can call on savvy contract managers. As a result, they present the contractor with a seemingly watertight chain of arguments to enforce their claim at the expense of the contractor.
In practice, however, it has often been shown that the contractor's ignorance of contractual interpretation is shamelessly and often trickily exploited. A remedy would be a contract manager whom employees could consult before entering the ring.
Was bedeutet Baseline-Management?
Wenn zu viel geliefert wird, so entstehen höhere Kosten und der Auftragnehmer macht Verluste. Wenn dagegen zu wenige geliefert wird, so muss mit einer Forderung des Bestellers gerechnet werden. Am Ende des Projektes sollten Baseline und Projektstatus übereinstimmen. Das Vertrags-Management sorgt dann dafür, dass die Baseline im Vertrag gegebenenfalls angepasst wird, damit die Übereinstimmung zwischen der Baseline aus dem Vertrag und dem aktuell geänderten Lieferumfang wieder vorliegt.
Das Vertrags-Management hat die Aufgabe, Änderungen zu bewerten und Angebote, Change Order oder Claims zu erstellen. Auch die Bewertung und die Unterstützung des Projektteams im Rahmen des Schriftwechsels gehört zu den Aufgaben.
Um bei einer Abweichung von der Baseline den Abgleich herzustellen, gehört auch das Entwerfen und Prüfen von Nachträgen und Vertragsänderungen zu den Aufgaben. Vielfach geht es bei Änderungen der Baseline um Mehrungen oder Minderungen, die auf Basis der Interpretation des Vertrages geführt werden. Daher ist es zu empfehlen, dass das vertrags-Management an diesen Verhandlungen teilnimmt, damit die technischen Fachabteilungen das entsprechende Know-how besitzen.
