Top Terms in Negotiation 2012

Dear all,

If you've followed this in the past few years, a really interesting report produced by the IACCM show the top terms in negotiation, usually nr 1 is limitation of liability, but this year IACCM say.....

This year’s study reveals changes that are far more dramatic than at any time since inception of the report. Among the highlights:

• Markets are fragmenting; major corporations are either choosing or being forced to shift the focus of their negotiation in international markets as local issues or concerns challenge standard templates.
• The buy-side / sell-side agenda has become more polarized, reflecting a growing divergence of concerns and increased focus by Legal and contracting specialists on supplier risk.
• The frequency of negotiation and of post-award claims and disputes has increased, driven by a combination of rapid power shifts within industries and between countries, and economic conditions that result in cost-cutting and adversarial behaviour.
• There are encouraging signs that negotiators are placing greater focus on terms that impact risk probability. However, there are also indications of diminished trust between buyers and suppliers, with collaboration occurring only between a select few.

These changes have significant implications for workload, skills, operational management and risk. They demand revised contract and commercial strategies and increase the urgency of steps toward ‘intelligent contracting’.

The sad news is this now seems to be locked down and you need to be a member of IACCM to read this report. Maybe IACCM will review this policy and give themselves a pat on the back....?!

Rob

http://www.iaccm.com/news/contractingexcellence/?storyid=1403&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CE_November_2012%20EMEA&utm_content=CE_November_2012%20EMEA+CID_b4269456f987f621a5b95f976f83ad05&utm_source=Campaign%20Monitor&utm_term=Read%20more

IACCM 2011 top terms in negotiation

In its 10^th annual survey of the most frequently negotiated terms and conditions, IACCM once more reveals that business contracts are constraining the value that can be achieved from high-performing relationships. For the first time, the study also identifies the most common sources of failure in contract outcomes and this indicates the potential value that could come from a robust contracting strategy and competence. 

Limitation of liability is sadly still nr 1 followed by indemnification, and there's a noticeable trend back towards the penalty type provisions. If there was any way of measuring roughly how much effort went into such negotiations we would probably be amazed and actually do something about it. Maybe next report IACCM?

This is a very interesting read, the only slight downside is you have to register to get the report.  The link is below.

Rob

http://www.iaccm.com/library/?id=3958#top

What are the top negotiated terms?

Funny you might ask! The International Association for Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM) suggest negotiations are out of step with business needs. Further, negotiators themselves believe they are negotiating the wrong things.

What were the top 5 issues being negotiated in 2008? Well, the IACCM found they were:

1. Limitation of liability
2. Indemnification
3. Price/Charge/Price Changes
4. Intellectual Property
5. Confidential Information/Data Protection

What do the IACCM think will be the top 5 in the future?

1. Scope and Goals
2. Change Management
3. Responsibilities of the Parties
4. Communications and Reporting
5. Service Levels and Warranties

I find this fascinating - is it just me or isn't the future the very sorts of things that NEC has strived to offer the parties for a very long time? The move away from traditional buyer/seller, master/servant relationships/contracts can only be a good thing. Imagine parties focusing on scope and goals, presumably of each other, what a difference that would finally make to outcomes!

Their report is somewhat out of date (2009, link below) representing negotiations in 2008 and the world is a different place right now, but is still very interesting. I will try and get an update and report back.

http://www.iaccm.com/contractingexcellence.php?storyid=923

The future is already here with NEC!

Rob