'Hidden' operational risks

Sooner or later, any business that fails to assess, mitigate or price its risks effectively will face disaster. Employees may be taking on risk individually that does not make sense for the business at an aggregate level. Or a risk may be buried deep in a contract and not noticed.

One manufacturer with a history of litigation behind it told us that they are "paranoid about the commercial risk" that inefficient management of contracts can cause.

As the pace of regulatory change increases, contract templates must be kept compliant and enforced. If these changes take months, then obsolete clauses will probably be used-potentially putting the business in breach of the law.

"A contract management methodology is an insurance policy. You are happy to have one when it covers the disasters. But this one also improves the bottom line."

MEMBA