Before signing up to new contracts – especially large ones – a round of pre-contractual due diligence is something that should never be skimped on, skirted around or ignored. This blog sets out essential steps to take before you walk into a…

When things go wrong in complex outsourcing, service commissioning or system integration projects, the costs of both escalating the problem for resolution and its remediation, are usually significant. And, looking back over the hundreds of projects we’ve been involved with…

If you are considering a replacement systems integrator for your current or future project, lessons learned from past experiences can often help build a far more accurate picture of ‘what good looks like‘ to benchmark against in any new relationship.…

Do you find it tiresome when months are spent going back and forth between your legal team and certain suppliers, only to finalise contract terms that often bring no real benefit to your project or its business outcomes?   We…

The following post focuses on one of the key issues explored in our white paper on improving Health and Social Care Services and significantly reducing costs. Download your free copy here. Improving health and social care outcomes, while significantly reducing…

A dispute that erupted in the first half of last year is once again in the news media. Stagecoach, one of a number of public transport providers in the UK and US, took the Department for Transport (DfT) to court…

The vast majority of outsourced relationships and complex projects are lengthy entities, often lasting five, ten, twenty years or more. It is likely that what may have suited your strategic partnership in the beginning will have moved on with what’s…

Those who rise to a position where they are responsible for negotiations must ensure they, and those in their procurement teams, are skilled in the art of successful negotiation; practised in its use – especially under pressure – and confident…

Many pressures beset those responsible for large-scale projects, forcing them to choose between a fastidious approach to procurement and project management, and meeting the time restrictions or budgetary constraints they are often required to work under. These are the circumstances…

Leading government efficiency-focused think tank IfG (Institute for Government) and US project management association PMI (Project Management Institute) recently released a new report concerning PFI value, titled ‘How to get better private finance deals for infrastructure’. The report took an…

If you are looking to renegotiate your outsourcing relationship, you are not alone: Outsourcing contract renegotiations are on the rise. Around 75% of all existing outsourcing relationships are renegotiated at some point during their lifetime according to Gartner Research.  And…

The biggest risk in a new service delivery partnership Without exception, the single largest key challenge in moving into a new strategic partnering arrangement with a service provider is a lack of clarity and quantification over both parties’ expectations and…

When entering into a new strategic relationship for outsourcing or a major technology solution project, the agreement at some point in its formation will be subjected to time pressures from internal or external sources. It could be that the client…

If you are to believe the statistics published on problematic big IT projects – whether a commercial sector Enterprise Software implementation (ERP), a Local Authority Client Relationship System (CRM) or an NHS Trust dealing with a problematic Electronic Patient Records…

As I recently read through yet another Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report uncovering yet more failures of Government procurement and project failures, I found myself wondering whether the squandering of the public purse is ever going to be addressed with…