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Recent Posts by Elgin Ward
Cultural Sensitivity Is a Must! By Elgin Ward
Cultural Sensitivity Is a Must! By Elgin Ward, CAUCUS , Executive Director
Every country/culture has rules and laws that need to be learned and obeyed. Violating a law, like jaywalking, might result in only a small fine. But, even a minor infraction might have cultural significance and adversely affect a business relationship and ones ability to...
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Mayhem of Multiples
Mayhem of Multiples By Elgin Ward, CAUCUS Executive Director
Every SOW should contain a reference to a specific, governing Master Agreement. Every SOW should be negotiated and managed to be completely consistent with specific, governing Master Agreement. Every SOW should provide that it is subject ONLY to the Master Agreement and not governed by any term...
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Should Remedies Be Creative? By Elgin Ward Oct 16, 2018
SHOULD REMEDIES BE CREATIVE? BY ELGIN WARD
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A warranty, by itself, is merely a naked representation and promise which may not be enough to leverage the Vendor to comply with its promises under a contract. To be effective, each Warranty needs a corresponding Remedy or consequence for a Vendor’s failure to satisfy the Warranty....
Vendor Relationship Manager? Never again!
By Elgin Ward, Executive Director of CAUCUS
Recently I spoke with a Procurement Professional who had experience in both Vendor Relationship Management and in IT Procurement. To keep confidences, I will refer to her as Peggy. Peggy told me a very experience that was very instructive.
Peggy was working as a Vendor Relationship Manager for a Manufacturing...
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There’s more to SW than just SW!
By Elgin Ward
In SW license deals, the license can apply to all identified IP, e.g., Documentation as well as SW object code. Customer can negotiate unique rights in specific IP such as in Documentation, Training, etc. Strategic licensing of SW, including the right to an exclusive license for certain derivative works, may enable the Customer...
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Using Questions to Defend Against SW Audits!
Using Questions to Defend Against SW Audits!
By Elgin Ward SW Vendors frequently use audits to force Customers to pay large sums of money and to purchase additional software and maintenance. Customers need powerful tools to prepare for and defend against a SW audits. One of the most powerful tools available for preparation and defense of a...Can Fine Print Save the Customer?
Can Fine Print Save the Customer?
By Elgin Ward, Executive Director, CAUCUS Association Sales Reps often view an acquisition as an opportunity to force the purchase of more software. If 2 companies using the same Software are involved in an acquisition, the Software License Agreement of each company must be reviewed and compared to understand the total...What You Don’t Know Can Hurt!
What You Don’t Know Can Hurt!
Every negotiator, as a human, has strengths and weaknesses. It is possible to learn the strengths and weaknesses of the Sales Rep in numerous ways including personal observation and interaction, investigation on the internet, facebook, LinkedIn and talking with other persons acquainted with the Sales Rep. The more a Customer...
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Faster T’s and C’s!
Customers want to speed up their contract negotiation process.
Customers T’s-and-C’s can sometimes slow down the Customer negotiation process.
Wise Customers act proactively and strategically to develop an ALTERNATIVE set of T’s-and-C’s to speed up their negotiations.
For Customer Stakeholders, speed really matters.
Customer management evaluates these Stakeholders on how quickly they get projects...
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Are your Contract Management goals good enough?
Suppliers have GOALS for their Contract Management. Supplier GOALS are not narrow or limited to the Contract. Customers should also have Contract Management GOALS to include minimizing costs and maximizing protections for the Customer.
A couple of questions about Contract Management. First, do you think Vendors or Suppliers have Contract Management, is that a function Suppliers...
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Kaizen – don’t ignore the numbers!
Kaizen can be applied to IT procurement. Stories alone cannot accomplish kaizen. Kaizen, to be effective, requires collection and use of hard numbers.
Kaizen is great for manufacturing. But, can it be used effectively to improve IT Procurement?
As a member of the IT procurement group, you are assigned to negotiate Professional Service Agreements to procure software...
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WIIFM – key to aligning mavericks!
IT procurement is much more successful in negotiation when alignment is first achieved with the Customer’s Managers. Sometimes a Customer Manager will be a maverick, unwilling to follow IT procurement processes, policies or procedures, a situation which can greatly impair negotiations with Vendors. The WIIFM principle (what’s in it for me) can be used by...
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Training you cannot buy!
The Customer should have and follow its own Procurement Process, different from the Vendor’s Sales Process. Customer stakeholders often don’t realize they are following a Vendor Sales Process that gives more negotiation leverage to the Sales Rep and hurts the Customer. For Customers to succeed, IT Procurement must educate stakeholders about the Customer Procurement Process...
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Is your fine print fine enough?
Is your fine print fine enough?
International, multi-language negotiations may begin in one or more foreign languages. Sometimes the agreement negotiated may be in two or more different languages to facilitate quick access by speakers of foreign languages. Customers can ensure certainty and avoid undesirable outcomes by specifying which is the OFFICIAL language for interpretation for...Does your SOW measure up?
Every successful Statement of Work should include specific measurable outcomes or results the Vendor is required to produce. Words like “assist, help, cooperate with, consult, advise, etc.” are not specific measurable outcomes or results. All SOWs, especially Vendor-drafted SOWs, must be carefully reviewed and revised to ensure the Vendor is legally committed to produce specific...
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Remedies – use your imagination!
Clear, concise, measurable Requirements are most important in every contract. An enforceable Remedy is needed for each Requirement if it fails. IT procurement should use its imagination to fashion Remedies that will highly motivate the Vendor to accomplish the Customer’s goals.
A state school system (State) faced a daunting challenge. It was rolling out Computer Labs...
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Benchmarking? The answer lies within!
Every Customer has numerous Vendors who provide Professional Services for IT projects. It is not uncommon for there to be overlap, situations where Vendors are providing the SAME or SIMILAR Professional Services to different Divisions or Departments of the Customer. One Customer group, preferably the VMO, should be tasked with creating and maintaining a database...
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Sooner is better than later!
No Vendor is perfect and most will likely miss one or more Service Levels. If a Vendor does not believe a Customer will enforce SLA Remedies, the contract Service Levels will have little or no benefit. By following up on SLA Remedy enforcement opportunities early in the performance of the Contract, the Customer can convince...
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Clouds can vaporize!
Using Cloud Services to meet CRITICAL needs often exposes a Customer to a number of major RISKS. Contracted-for Cloud Services can become unavailable for a number of reasons including the CSP’s going belly up OR if it decides no longer to offer the Cloud Service. Effective protection against Cloud Service PITFALLS requires that potential Risks...
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