Key Clauses in Professional Services Agreements
Guest Speaker: Michael Zazaian, Purchasing Manager, NEA This Online Class was Thursday, January 24, 12:00 - 1:15 pm Thank you for registering for the Key Clauses in Professional Services Agreements on Replay on the Zoom.us platform. Please click below.
Procurement Transformation: Eastman Chemical Company Case Study

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...How we ended up in IT procurement…?

September 2017 CAUCUS Chatter - Internet Radio Show
How we ended up in IT procurement...? Come join the great conversations with Robert Wright and Elgin Ward as they discuss the never ending thought, "How we ended up in IT procurement," and career development, why and how to do it! Always following up in the end with inside...Do You Have Big Security Risks in Your Agreements?

August 2017 CAUCUS Chatter - Internet Radio Show
Do You Have Big Security Risks in Your Agreements? Join us here monthly for the new CAUCUS Chatter. An internet radio show designed for the IT Procurement person in you! So sit back, relax and listen to hosts CAUCUS Executive Director Elgin Ward, and CAUCUS CEAC Chair...Innovation to Speed Up Business and Inside a Vendor’s Playbook

June 2017 CAUCUS Chatter - Internet Radio Show
Innovation to Speed Up Business and Inside a Vendor's Playbook
Join us here monthly for the new CAUCUS Chatter. An internet radio show designed for the IT Procurement person in you! So sit back, relax and listen to hosts CAUCUS Executive Director Elgin Ward, and CAUCUS CEAC Chair Robert...Use “Thanks” to Educate!

Internal alignment is key for Procurement to negotiate better deals. How to get it? Using “Thanks” properly can be a powerful tool to educate customer Stakeholders.
“Thank you” is one of MOST powerful tools Procurement has. Procurement is a team sport – it can’t be done successfully alone.
If Procurement succeeds in negotiating great T&Cs and amazing pricing,...
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Is IT Sourcing Really Strategic?

Vendors and their sales reps are extremely strategic in the use of their time, their expense accounts and other resources, demos, loss leaders, and RFP responses, often gaining the vendors negotiation advantages. By creating or seizing opportunities to be strategic, IT sourcing, too, can increase its negotiation leverage to get better deals for the Customer.
Sometime...
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Learning from Vendors – Strategy 6: Contract Timing

Learning from Vendors. Sales Reps are often masters at controlling when a deal is brought to Procurement, thus limiting the Customer’s preparation time and negotiation leverage. To counter this Sales Strategy, Customers must understand it and take necessary counter measures.
This is one of the most successful strategies used by Sales people on Customers to control...
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The Partner Ploy

One deadly Vendor Ploy is the Partner Ploy. It lessens Customer negotiation leverage, making a good deal harder to get. Learn a good countermove for the Partner Ploy.
One deadly Vendor Ploy is the Partner Ploy. It lessens Customer negotiation leverage, making a good deal harder to get. Learn a good countermove for the Partner Ploy.
Vendors...
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Learning from vendors – Strategy 5: CONSENSUS

Sales Reps are constantly seeking to exercise more influence over Customer decision makers than does IT Procurement. How can Procurement recognize and counter these ongoing Vendor efforts?
This tip of the week deals with the 5th of 8 strategies used by vendors to sell to Customer organizations. We previously discussed how vendors use CONTACTS, TRUST, defining...
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Termination Clause – Importance of extension language at the end of the Term

I have had several “end of term” disasters this year. Although my procurement department has a great “expiring contracts” management process to provide early warning, that does not mean each one of the dozens and dozens of maintenance agreements is in the tool. Nor does it mean that even with lots of lead time your...
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SOWs must mind their parents!

Before there is an SOW, a Master Agreement is created.
Whether it is a Master Services Agreement, Master Purchase Agreement, or some other Master Agreement, it is the Master Agreement that provides for the creation of SOWs, SOWs that are to be consistent with the Master Agreement.
In negotiating a Master Agreement, all of the most experienced...
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