Monthly Archives: August 2011

In this instance our client purchased steel on a devolved basis at over 30 locations. No strategy was in place to ensure price and cost were effectively managed. Our negotiations were preceded by extensive purchase research. Negotiations were held with two suppliers, each capable of maintaining long-term supply. One was a manufacturer and the other […]

As with any IT system purchases this had a high degree of complexity. The cost drivers included all internal costs, consultancy advice, software development, hardware acquirement, testing, implementation, training and through life support. The supplier’s reluctance to provide a detailed cost breakdown was overcome and negotiations took place. The contract complexity was the subject of […]

This situation concerned a series of claims made by a contractor. The claims related to specification changes, delays, additional product support and out-of-hours working. We undertook a complete audit/review of contract files, contract review minutes, correspondence, site meetings and other related documents. The dispute involved bonds, product guarantees, payment of damages, long-term product support and […]

It is a fact that in many situations the purchase of legal services is less than robust. There is no capped fee, no specification and often no commitment of who will provide the legal services, in other words will it be a Partner, solicitor or trainee? Is the client ‘on the clock’ or what is […]

In this situation the Contractor had a contract to maintain a software system that, if not working, could cost our client in excess of ￡50,000 per day in lost revenue. The Contractor regularly missed response times, failed to correct software defects and submitted excessively charged invoices. A thorough review showed that some engineers were charging […]

Our client was a UK manufacturer of caravans and motor-homes, competing with international brands. The client had a positive product development programme whereby the product range was either completely redesigned or refreshed each year. This placed considerable stress on procurement and supply chain to manage contracts and inventory in such a way that working capital […]

This assignment took place in an aerospace organisation that manufactured safety critical items for international airlines and defence clients. The review took place in all European, USA and Canadian sites. Expenditure on raw materials, machined components and Bought Out Finished parts were included in the review. We also reviewed the flow down of contractual risk […]