Overview

Make time to develop strategy - If time is not invested early in developing a strategy, the foundation for success will not be in place

We believe that many, and pehaps most, of the problems we see across commercial and contracting activities result from a failure to plan how best to achieve operational requirements through commercial arrangements. In other words, departments jump to buying without developing a full commercial strategy. The government needs to plan so it can understand and articulate what it wants, and how to achieve this. Planning forms the basis for core activities such as developing an approach to the market, the service specification and contractual approach; sets the tone for contractual relations; and identifies risks. Government requirements for a strategic outline business case include developing a commercial case. If this is not done well, the lack of a clear direction for the programme will lead to challenges for commercial planning.