Pre-Contract Management Training Course

Participants can identify stakeholders and capture a requirement that reflects operational needs.

• Stakeholder mapping by influence, interest, authority and delivery dependency
• Interviews that separate stated wants from operational requirements and constraints
• Voice-of-customer methods for service users, operators and technical specialists
• Requirements traceability matrix linking needs, specifications, criteria and acceptance
• Managing conflicting priorities between users, finance, risk and delivery teams
• Documenting assumptions, exclusions, interfaces and unresolved requirement decisions

Participants can prepare clear scopes and specifications suitable for supplier pricing and delivery.

• Scope statement defining deliverables, boundaries, dependencies and exclusions
• Functional specifications describing required outcomes without prescribing supplier solutions
• Performance specifications using measurable service levels and acceptance thresholds
• Work breakdown structure for complex projects, packages and technical interfaces
• Statement of work sections for services, milestones, outputs and responsibilities
• Acceptance criteria tied to evidence, testing, inspection and sign-off
• Avoiding ambiguous terms, hidden assumptions and contradictory technical requirements

Participants can test demand, establish commercial assumptions and prepare business case inputs.

• Demand forecast built from volumes, usage patterns, growth and seasonality
• Make-buy analysis comparing internal capability, capacity, cost and control
• Baseline spend analysis using invoices, purchase orders and consumption data
• Total cost of ownership covering acquisition, operation, maintenance and disposal
• Should-cost estimates using labour, materials, overheads and supplier margin
• Business case assumptions documented with sources, confidence levels and owners

Participants can analyse supply markets and identify implications for the sourcing approach.

• PESTLE analysis of regulatory, economic and technology market drivers
• Supplier market mapping by capability, geography, capacity and certification
• Porter's Five Forces applied to supplier bargaining power and rivalry
• Market intelligence from industry reports, prior tenders and supplier briefings
• Supply chain tiers, concentration risks and critical subcontractor dependencies
• Testing whether competition, collaboration or direct award best fits conditions

Participants can select a sourcing strategy aligned with value, risk and market conditions.

• Kraljic Portfolio Matrix positioning by profit impact and supply risk
• Sourcing options including competition, frameworks, panels and direct negotiation
• Lotting strategies that balance supplier access, integration and accountability
• Single-source justification supported by capability, urgency and market evidence
• Local content, sustainability and supplier diversity objectives within specifications
• Sourcing strategy document linking market findings to procurement route

Participants can build a controlled procurement plan from initiation through award.

• Procurement plan milestones from approval through mobilisation readiness
• Critical path analysis for approvals, tender periods and evaluation activities
• Lead-time estimates for supplier due diligence, negotiations and contract review
• Responsibility assignment using RACI across procurement and project teams
• Decision calendar for steering committees, delegations and award authorities
• Contingency planning for failed tenders, protests and supplier withdrawal

Participants can identify, assess and treat risks before issuing a solicitation.

• Risk register covering scope, market, delivery, commercial and compliance exposure
• Probability-impact scoring with defined scales and escalation thresholds
• Risk appetite statements distinguishing acceptable, tolerable and prohibited exposure
• Mitigation actions assigned to owners, deadlines and evidence requirements
• Risk allocation principles between buyer, supplier, insurer and subcontractor
• Contingency allowances linked to quantified risk assumptions and approval limits

Participants can choose pricing and payment structures that support the intended commercial outcomes.

• Fixed-price structures for defined scope, stable quantities and measurable outputs
• Time-and-materials controls using rate cards, caps and approval mechanisms
• Unit-rate schedules for variable quantities, measured work and call-offs
• Cost-reimbursable arrangements with audit rights, ceilings and fee structures
• Price adjustment clauses using indices, triggers and calculation formulas
• Payment milestones linked to deliverables, acceptance and retention requirements

Participants can identify key contractual terms and propose balanced risk allocation.

• Core clauses covering scope, price, term, change and termination
• Liability caps, indemnities and exclusions aligned with identified risk
• Insurance requirements matched to professional, operational and project exposures
• Intellectual property provisions for background rights, deliverables and licences
• Data protection and confidentiality obligations for sensitive supplier information
• Force majeure, relief events and business continuity responsibilities
• Legal review instructions that identify commercial intent and unresolved positions

Participants can assess supplier suitability before inviting or appointing bidders.

• Prequalification criteria for financial capacity, capability and relevant experience
• Financial health review using liquidity, profitability and solvency indicators
• Compliance checks for sanctions, beneficial ownership and conflicts of interest
• Reference verification focused on comparable scope, outcomes and delivery conduct
• Health, safety and environmental evidence proportionate to contract risk
• Due diligence report distinguishing red flags, conditions and acceptance decisions

Participants can assemble coherent solicitation documents that obtain comparable supplier responses.

• Invitation to tender instructions covering timetable, submission and communications
• Request for proposal structure for solution-based and complex requirements
• Request for quotation format for defined goods, services and rates
• Bidder response schedules that standardise technical and commercial information
• Draft contract issued with solicitation to expose unacceptable terms early
• Clarification protocol preserving equal treatment, confidentiality and documented responses
• Document hierarchy resolving conflicts between specifications, schedules and conditions

Participants can design evaluation criteria that distinguish value while remaining defensible.

• MEAT criteria balancing price, quality, delivery, risk and sustainability
• Weighted scoring model with definitions, evidence requirements and score anchors
• Pass-fail thresholds for mandatory compliance, safety and legal requirements
• Price evaluation methods including lowest price, normalisation and total cost
• Evaluation plan separating individual scoring, consensus moderation and approval
• Conflict-of-interest declarations for evaluators, advisers and decision makers
• Evaluation records that explain scores without unsupported supplier comparisons

Participants can manage a fair, controlled solicitation process from issue to closing.

• Tender issue checklist confirming approvals, documents, access and timetable
• Bidder briefing rules for consistent information and recorded questions
• Clarification logs tracking questions, responses, addenda and acknowledgement
• Addendum control when scope, criteria or commercial terms change
• Secure bid receipt procedures protecting confidentiality and submission integrity
• Late bid handling under stated rules, approvals and exception records

Participants can evaluate bids, moderate scores and document a defensible recommendation.

• Compliance screening against mandatory requirements, forms and submission conditions
• Individual evaluator scoring based on published criteria and bid evidence
• Consensus moderation using score rationale, challenge and documented agreement
• Arithmetic checks for pricing schedules, extensions and stated assumptions
• Abnormally low bid review using supplier explanations and delivery evidence
• Clarification boundaries distinguishing permitted confirmation from bid improvement
• Evaluation report presenting findings, risks, rankings and recommended action

Participants can prepare and conduct structured pre-award negotiations within approved authority.

• Negotiation mandate defining objectives, authority limits and approval routes
• BATNA analysis establishing alternatives, walk-away points and contingency actions
• Concession planning using tradeable variables, sequence and conditional offers
• Supplier negotiation agenda covering scope, price, risk and mobilisation
• Cost breakdown analysis to test rates, assumptions and claimed savings
• Negotiation minutes recording offers, agreements, reservations and follow-up actions
• Ethical boundaries for discussions with shortlisted bidders and incumbents

Participants can prepare award approvals and finalise contract documents without losing control.

• Award recommendation summarising process, evaluation, negotiations and residual risks
• Delegated authority checks for budget, commitment value and approval signatures
• Standstill and notification procedures where required by procurement rules
• Contract finalisation checklist for schedules, signatures, dates and incorporated documents
• Exceptions register capturing departures from policy, terms and evaluation plan
• Supplier notification letters distinguishing award, regret and conditional appointment
• Records retention schedule for tender files, approvals and correspondence

Participants can hand over complete pre-award information for effective contract mobilisation.

• Handover pack containing contract, bid commitments, risks and clarifications
• Mobilisation plan covering people, systems, assets, data and readiness milestones
• Contract management plan defining governance meetings, reports and escalation
• Performance baseline derived from specifications, service levels and pricing schedules
• Open issues log assigning owners, deadlines and closure evidence
• Kick-off agenda aligning operational teams, supplier leads and contract managers

Participants can apply ethical, integrity and sustainability controls to pre-contract decisions.

• Procurement ethics covering impartiality, confidentiality, gifts and inducements
• Conflict-of-interest management through declarations, recusal and documented controls
• Segregation of duties between specification, evaluation, approval and payment
• Anti-bribery red flags in supplier interactions, agents and unusual pricing
• ISO 20400 principles applied to environmental, social and economic criteria
• Proportional sustainability requirements supported by measurable supplier evidence

Participants can integrate requirements, sourcing and commercial documents into an approval-ready pack.

• Requirement brief connecting stakeholder needs, scope and acceptance criteria
• Sourcing strategy supported by market analysis, category position and risk
• Procurement plan integrating milestones, governance gates and decision owners
• Tender document suite aligned across instructions, specifications and schedules
• Evaluation model tested against sample responses, evidence and scoring anchors
• Commercial risk schedule linking allocation, contract clauses and mitigations
• Quality review against completeness, consistency, authority and auditability

Participants can build, review and present a complete pre-contract pack and award recommendation for a defined requirement.

• Case requirement analysed for scope, stakeholders, demand and delivery constraints
• Pre-contract strategy built from market evidence, risks and commercial objectives
• Tender package reviewed for clarity, comparability and contractual completeness
• Supplier evaluation findings consolidated into an evidence-based recommendation
• Negotiation outcomes incorporated within approved authority and risk tolerances
• Award paper presented with rationale, residual risks and mobilisation actions
• Peer review tests governance, commercial logic and document consistency