Contract management: A new profession soon to be indispensable

A relatively recent function in France, contract management aims to secure contracts throughout a project. A necessity in complex industrial sectors where contractual risks are high.

A blend of technical, contractual, financial and risk management know-how, contract management has become an integral part of companies in recent years, as they have become aware of the need to secure their contracts.

Its added value? The contract manager's global, cross-functional vision of projects, his or her experience of contractual issues, and his or her ability to anticipate, manage risks and resolve disputes, whatever the contract, project or business sector.

" Contract management is an expertise in its own rightsays Rolland TERRIN, Contract Manager at Onet Technologies. The contract manager is present from the pre-project stage, before the contract is signed, right through to the end of its execution. They support project teams both in analyzing calls for tender and in executing and monitoring contracts when, for example, certain services are modified or change during the course of the project. Our role is to support the teams, to define the strategy to be adopted and, if necessary, to draw up a claims file incorporating the resulting financial and/or technical consequences. "

Additional contractual guarantee and security

From assisting with the drafting of correspondence (contractual, strategic, complaints, etc.) to quantifying capital gains or losses in the event of contract amendments, not to mention taking part in negotiations, helping to define risks and managing crises, the role of the contract manager is as varied as it is important.

Although a relatively recent phenomenon in France, only ten years old - and with a job profile that has yet to be fully defined - contract management is now an integral part of many organizations. Onet Technologies' two contract managers, who report to the Operations Division of the Methods, Performance and Projects (MPP) department, have quickly found their place within the company.

Departments now spontaneously call on us," notes Rolland Terrin. In addition to the outside, detached view we can provide, our involvement brings them additional contractual security and guarantees. Most of our customers have a contract management department, and they want the companies they plan to sign with to have one too. When companies have a contract management department, they talk to their customers on a more equal footing. Internationally, the presence of contract managers is now indispensable.