Detailed Services
Our associates are industry leaders known for providing contracting solutions to improve organizational efficiencies and reduce operating costs. Our expertise is based on actual experience instead of theory, which will provide our clients with solutions to fit their environment and will help them to achieve operational efficiencies and meet their financial goals.
A sampling of our Services is described below:
Pre-Execution
Comprehensive Contract, Proposal, and RFP
Documents are prepared and reviewed based upon your company guidelines and playbooks for both customer and supplier agreements. Draft agreements can also be taken through negotiation and execution based upon your requirements
Third Party Agreement Due Diligence and General Due Diligence Support
The process begins with a review of the affected client’s supplier agreements to identify any risky terms affecting the overall deal which will need to be mitigated during negotiation, an analysis of the pricing if available to validate pricing assumptions and to begin identification of disposition options to facilitate the overall proposal process.
Vendor Market Research
Research and qualification of vendors to determine those capable of providing required goods or services
Drafting Letters of Intent (LOI), Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Authorization to Proceed (ATP)
- Drafting of documents that can be used as a bridge between discussions and a binding contract based on the situational requirements. Facilitates the start of a business deal or project by identifying key business and contractual understandings that will form the basis of the final contract.
- LOI – non-binding
- MOU – either binding or non-binding based on language
- ATP – binding
Comparative Analysis of Proposals with Advice
Upon receipt of vendor proposals, a matrix is prepared to compare vendor responses for all proposal elements, along with an analysis of the responses
Market Intelligence Contracts
Our Contract Intelligence service provides a strategic analysis of industry-standard and vendor agreements to optimize contract structures and key clauses, ensuring consistency, excellence, and adherence to best practices in contract management. Through comprehensive market intelligence analysis, we review a broad range of public domain contracts and our database, leveraging our past experience with similar domain contracts. Our detailed examination of current and proposed structures allows us to recommend enhancements, while our high-level visual summaries and succinct summaries of essential clauses facilitate ease of comparison. We categorize clauses into ‘Must-Have,’ ‘Good-to-Have,’ and ‘Not-to-Have,’ and provide a streamlined template to promote transparency in business transactions. To aid in effective negotiations, we develop strategic recommendations focused on key deal terms, ensuring alignment with our client’s interests and market standards. This approach not only streamlines contracting processes but also serves as a vital resource for future negotiations and vendor management initiatives.
Post-Execution
Preparation of Contract Summaries and Briefings
Contract briefings distill key aspects of the contract in layman’s terms to allow for rapid education, familiarization and assimilation by the intended audience.
Obligation, Service Level and Key Contract Metadata Extraction
Extraction of key contract metadata, service levels, obligations and frequency from a contract, validation of those extracted obligations and assignment of obligation responsibility.
Obligation Management
Based on the extracted obligations, obligations undergo ongoing monitoring and follow-up to ensure delivery and compliance
Contract Metadata Extraction, Data Cleanup and Repository Input
Following extraction of the contractual metadata, the metadata is uploaded into a contract system or repository. Data cleanup may be required for contracts which are migrated from another system.
Creation of Decision Trees for various Contractual Processes
A decision tree is a simple way to visualize the process steps and flow, decisions, outcomes of a contractual process or program. We will review the process described in the contract in detail, break it down into a visual tool and identify outcomes or results of decisions.
Change Management
As contractual change occurs, an amendment is prepared to record the agreement between the parties and ensure the contract remains in compliance with the parties’ intent and agreements.
Contract Conforming
After changes are executed by both parties, contracts can be conformed to incorporate all amendments to form a completely revised version of the entire contract.
Contract Research and Recommendations
Contract research is performed to respond to individual requests for contract information, assistance with analyzing an issue or problem, or interpretation of contract language.
Development of Various Contractual Templates and Agreements
Standard agreement templates are required to facilitate business between parties in a more efficient manner. If these standard templates do not exist, we can prepare templates based on best practice to meet the business needs and risk tolerances for our customers.
Invoice Reconciliation
The process of reviewing invoices against the contracts or purchase orders to ensure accurate payments.
Prime Contract Flow Down Development
The purpose of this process is to identify and capture clauses within a direct client contract (“Prime Contract”) which need to be flowed down to any suppliers of the Service Provider.
Risk, Issue and Opportunity Register
Management A primary role of effective contract management is maintaining, advising and bringing to closure all open risks, issues and actions of a contractual nature and managing the opportunities to grow the business. Our service will capture all flow downs into a concise document which can be attached to an agreement with the subcontractors.
SOW and Change Management Drafting, Reviews and Redlining
There can be various documents such as Statement of Work (SOWs), Project Proposals, Change Requests (CRs), Contract Change Notes (CCNs) and Response to RFPs which need to be reviewed in compliance with company standards prior to submission to another party. We will manage the review process, ensure accuracy and consistency within and between contractual documents and to minimize financial and operational risk.
Contract Restructuring
Redesigning a contract to update the contractual terms to company standards, simplifying the language for understandability and organizing the clauses for greater efficiency.
Standard Contract Comparative Analysis (with different contract versions)
A contractual comparative analysis is done, clause by clause, to assess the differences between executed contracts and the company standards.
Development of Contract Checklists, Helpful Hints
Preparation of various checklists and guides to assist in the various contract processes and activities. Examples include contract review checklist, difficult negotiation tips, proposal qualification checklist, contract and project risk checklists, contract exit checklist
Third Party Agreement Transition and Transformation (for outsourcing)
Ensure the transitioned agreements and consents are in place and in compliance with the Master Agreement through agency, RTU, transfer, and replacement agreements followed by an orchestrated plan to implement supplier strategy generating cost savings and mitigating risk.
Contractual Audit Support Services
A contract audit involves a thorough examination of contractual agreements and related documents to ensure that the obligations of all parties are fulfilled accurately and efficiently. It seeks to identify discrepancies, non-compliance, and potential risks while evaluating contract management practices’ effectiveness. The goal is to provide assurance that contracts are being executed per the agreed terms, thereby protecting the organization’s interests and promoting operational efficiency.
Contract Governance Management
Contract Governance Management is essential for any organization seeking to maximize the value of its contractual relationships while minimizing associated risks. By implementing a structured CGM framework, organizations can ensure that their contracts are effectively managed, monitored, and enforced, leading to enhanced compliance, improved efficiency, and optimized performance. Contract governance includes many of the post-execution activities listed in this catalog like Performance management, compliance, change management/amendments, dispute resolution, risk management and such.
Exit
Third Party Agreement Disengagement and Exit
This service involves the timely and cost-effective transition and disposition of pertinent third-party contracts to a client or client’s replacement supplier during the disengagement of a sales contract. This could also involve the collection…
of financial or current supplier spend information to determine recovery of any stranded costs or prepaid supplier expenses.
Drafting of Termination Letter/ Notices
Development of Exit Checklist
Development of a list of the most essential activities related to disentanglement during a contract termination or expiration.
Managing, Monitoring Exit Obligations
This service involves identifying and extracting exit obligations for the purpose of educating the affected teams on exit obligations, managing compliance with such obligations by either party, identifying and advising on risk and issue mitigation strategies.