Telecom Category Management Contract Best Practices

Contracts for technology products and services purchased for your business are vital to the organization’s ability to operate. As a Telecom Category contract manager, adhering to your business standards in accordance with the contracting process for Third Party vendors to protect business interests and get the best value for the company are key.

• As a contract manager you’re expected to lead contract negotiations both legal contract language and pricing for your business. Any successful negotiation must first begin with developing negotiating strategies and aligning these strategies with internal stakeholders on requirements and negotiation positions.  For example, have a pre-understanding of which legal terms are non-negotiable and which contract elements are the most important for your internal business partners as a must have SLA or KPI measurement.

• Managing vendors through negotiations, isn’t a boxing game with aspirations of a KO.  Both sides should work towards a win-win for all parties.  Drafting contract language in accordance with your business policies and standards.  It goes without saying that you should guard the integrity of the pricing schedules and include mechanisms to ensure they are fit for purpose and pricing is aligned with the terms of the agreement.

• Coordinate and scheduling meetings which cover the open actions of the contract and should be inclusive of your stakeholders.  This enables them to be included in the negotiations ensuring your supplier understands the magnitude of why a particular SLA or KPI is important. Having this influence during the negotiation helps articulate what could be a very technical aspect that only a technical lead can specify.  Continuously set expectations with all stakeholders, updating them on the status of the negotiations is important working off on your own will only set you up for failure fast.

• Once the terms have been agreed “the final terms” educate all stakeholders on the company’s and the vendor’s obligations and any special pricing terms within the overall agreement.  You’ve likely spent several weeks working on the contract so there’s no point shoving all that hard work into your desk drawer.  Document the key obligations and construct a way to consciously report on the status of these obligations is key. There’s a high chance you will need to manage issues related to the contract and assists in interpreting the contract as issues arise.

• As the services are delivered and implemented, utilize lessons learned from things like product delivery timeframes, whether implementation was smooth, and gain insights into performance trending post production.  Leverage this information to provide input into the continuous improvement and enhancement of standard sets of IT contracting processes and tools that enable consistent contract development and ongoing management capabilities across other supplier agreements.

These are just a few basics of best practices around Telecom Category management for contracts but key attributes throughout the negotiation should include:

1. Effective communication (i.e. keep it professional)
2. Problem solving
3. An analytical approach to assessing the implications of contractual terms and pricing and financial modeling.
4. Finally, it never hurts to think creatively or out of the box especially when working towards a win-win for both sides.

Simplify your Telecom Category Management with Temforce