How to complete a Supplier Contract

In this article, you will learn how to complete a Supplier Contract and you will also be given the opportunity to enter our free prize draw!

How to complete a Supplier Contract...

Almost every Project Manager at some point in their career seek the assistance of external suppliers to help them to undertake a project. To ensure that those suppliers provide the project team with the right deliverables, at the right time and to the right level of quality—you need to create a Supplier Contract. This contract is:

“An agreement between the Project and Supplier for the acquisition of a defined set of deliverables to meet the requirements of the Project”.

The contract specifically defines the deliverables to be produced, the responsibilities of both the Supplier and Project , the performance criteria to be met by the Supplier and any terms and conditions applicable. 

Documenting a comprehensive Supplier Contract is critical to ensuring that you get the most out of your supplier relationship. To create a detailed Supplier Contract for your project, we suggest that you create a document which includes the following sections:

1. Introduction. Describe the purpose of the Supplier Contract and define any commonly used terminology.
2. Deliverables. Explicitly list the deliverables to be provided by the supplier to the project. For each deliverable, list the quantity to be provided by the supplier and the price of each deliverable to be supplied. You will also need to include a detailed delivery schedule which lists the timeframes for supplying the deliverable to the project team.
3. Responsibilities. List the responsibilities of both the supplier and the project team for producing and receiving the deliverables. Creating a detailed list of responsibilities is an extremely important section within a Supplier Contract, as you will refer to it throughout the project when you assess the suppliers performance.
4. Performance. To help you to measure the ongoing performance of the supplier, you will first need to define the criteria that will be used to assess their performance. For instance, you may wish to ensure that the supplier provides all of the deliverables specified and performs all of their responsibilities listed within this contract. Also make sure that you clearly specify the process for undertaking supplier performance reviews, so that both parties have clear understanding of the entire performance management process.
5. Terms and Conditions. And finally, list the terms and conditions for invoicing, payment, termination, disputes and indemnity.

If you create a contract which includes all of these sections, then you can feel comfortable that you will gain the maximum benefit from your supplier relationship.

If you would like to download a Supplier Contract template to help you to help you to create a comprehensive supplier agreement for your project, then click here.