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Large-scale infrastructure programmes rarely fail because of intent; they fail because risk is poorly defined, inadequately allocated or insufficiently monitored. This was the position we inherited when we were asked to support negotiations on a multi-million pound agreement for electric vehicle charge installation across a national estate. Several rounds of negotiation had already taken place, […]

When a new community health contract goes live, there is always a period of bedding in, during which systems are refined, demand patterns settle and operational practice aligns with contractual expectations. In this case, however, what initially appeared to be normal early stage variation gradually developed into something more serious: a significant and unexpected overspend

Because belief is not assessment. In contract and service management, change is not an event. It is a constant. A supplier proposes a variation to reflect market pressures. A budget challenge requires cost reduction. A commissioner adjusts eligibility criteria. A delivery team redesigns a pathway to improve flow. A policy shift alters expectations mid-cycle. On

Because numbers do not just show cost. They reveal thinking. At tender stage, price is often reduced to a single figure. One total. One line. One comparison point. It looks efficient. It looks tidy. It looks easy to score. It is also dangerously incomplete. A contract budget is not merely a financial proposal. It is

Structure before escalation. Discipline before drama. Contract underperformance is not unusual. It ranges from minor KPI slippage to sustained delivery failure. It may carry reputational risk, financial exposure or operational disruption. Sometimes it is visible immediately. More often, it develops gradually. What separates stabilised contracts from deteriorating ones is not luck. It is structure. Managing

Most organisations agree on one thing. Reactive contract management is exhausting. The inbox becomes a queue of urgent issues. A missed compliance milestone here. A delayed invoice there. A performance query that escalates before anyone has fully understood it. The contract manager becomes a firefighter, moving from one small blaze to the next. It feels

Why fixing the symptom is not the same as fixing the problem When a contract begins to underperform, the pressure builds quickly. KPIs turn amber, then red.Stakeholders ask what is being done.Senior leaders want reassurance. The instinctive response is to act. Draft a remedial action plan. Schedule additional meetings. Add oversight. Increase reporting frequency. Movement

At the implementation stage of any contract, one of the first responsibilities of a contract manager is to interrogate the agreement properly. Not skim it. Not assume it makes sense. Interrogate it. This is where the Contract Management File – the CM File – becomes indispensable. For us, the CM File is not administrative overhead.

Why some suppliers flourish – and others quietly fail Every contract manager eventually realises a difficult truth. Performance problems are rarely just about process. They are about people, incentives and capacity. Two suppliers can hold identical contracts, operate under the same KPIs and receive the same oversight – yet deliver entirely different outcomes. The difference

Every contract begins well. Mobilisation is energetic. Senior people are present. Governance looks robust. Both sides are attentive, responsive and keen to demonstrate credibility. The early months are characterised by goodwill and momentum. Then the tone shifts. It is rarely dramatic. Responses slow slightly. Deadlines move “by a few days”. Deliverables technically meet the brief