Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Develop clear and unambiguous service requirements and statements of work (SOW).
• Apply structured methods for vendor evaluation, selection, and due diligence.
• Negotiate favorable commercial and legal terms in IT contracts.
• Establish effective governance mechanisms for vendor performance monitoring.
• Monitor, measure, and report on vendor adherence to Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
• Identify and mitigate the legal, security, and operational risks of outsourcing.
• Manage conflict resolution and handle contract breaches effectively.
• Develop strategies for building and maintaining strategic vendor relationships.

• IT Managers and Team Leaders with vendor oversight
• Sourcing and Procurement Specialists focused on IT
• Contract Managers and IT Asset Managers
• Business Relationship Managers (BRMs)
• Project Managers working with external solution providers
• Service Delivery Managers responsible for outsourced services

• Role-playing complex contract negotiation scenarios.
• Case studies focusing on managing vendor service failures.
• Group activities to develop a vendor risk scorecard and audit checklist.
• Individual exercises in drafting key contract clauses (SLAs, termination).
• Discussions on best practices for relationship building.

Unit 1: The Vendor Management Lifecycle

• The role of vendor management in IT strategy and sourcing.
• Developing a clear outsourcing or insourcing strategy.
• Defining business and technical requirements clearly.
• Creating a comprehensive Statement of Work (SOW).
• The importance of procurement policies and procedures.

• RFI, RFP, and RFQ processes and best practices.
• Structured scoring models for vendor evaluation.
• Conducting due diligence, including financial and security checks.
• Shortlisting and final selection criteria.

Unit 2: Contract Negotiation and Structure

• Understanding vendor pricing models (fixed price, T&M, usage-based).
• Negotiating favorable commercial terms and cost controls.
• Strategies for achieving win-win outcomes.
• Key pitfalls to avoid in IT vendor negotiations.

• Key legal clauses (indemnification, termination, liability).
• Structuring Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and performance metrics.
• Defining scope change mechanisms and escalation procedures.
• Intellectual property, data ownership, and security requirements.

Unit 3: Performance and Service Delivery Governance

• Establishing a vendor performance management framework.
• Collecting and analyzing service performance data.
• Conducting regular service reviews and scorecards.
• Managing performance penalties and incentives.

• Designing the vendor governance structure (operational, tactical, strategic).
• Defining roles and responsibilities for relationship owners.
• Managing communication and collaboration platforms.
• Techniques for resolving service disputes and conflicts.

Unit 4: Risk, Compliance, and Audit

• Identifying and assessing third-party risks (financial, operational, security).
• Conducting ongoing security and compliance audits.
• Due diligence for sub-contracting and supply chain risks.
• Developing a vendor business continuity plan.

• Contractual requirements for data privacy (e.g., GDPR, CCPA).
• Ensuring vendor compliance with industry standards (e.g., ISO, SOC 2).
• The role of the audit clause in managing compliance.
• Documentation requirements for regulatory review.

Unit 5: Relationship Management and Contract Closure

• Moving beyond transactional to collaborative partnerships.
• Strategies for continuous joint innovation and value creation.
• Executive-level sponsorship for key vendor relationships.
• Measuring vendor relationship health and satisfaction.

• Planning for contract expiration and renewal well in advance.
• Off-boarding procedures and transition planning.
• Data repatriation and security clearance upon termination.
• Post-mortem analysis of vendor relationships.