When seeking the right Contract Management Services in Nigeria for your project, you should consider these specific areas. It is also important that these areas are appropriately tailored to Nigeria’s local context.
Contract Management Services in Nigeria require a unique approach – an approach that considers the business climate, culture, and local intricacies.
For countries in the western world without the kind of challenges in Nigeria, contract administration is relatively simple. But if you manage projects in Nigeria, your contract administration issues can get quite complicated.
Successful contract management services in Nigeria require an approach that considers the current business climate, culture and local intricacies. There are several reasons contributing to the challenges of contracts administration in Nigeria. Some of these include:
- Weak contract enforcement systems
- The cultural tendency of a relaxed attitude to time consciousness
- An ineffective criminal justice system
- Endemic corruption
- Socio-economic challenges, and
- Weak regulatory institutions
Despite these factors, organizations are still tasked with the responsibility of ensuring their contracts perform and that their projects ultimately succeed. As a result, organizations and private entities are constantly seeking ways to avoid the harmful effect of poor contracting. They consequently are increasingly selecting service providers based on personal and professional referrals. The perceived idea that those referred are more likely to perform on contracts is however not proven. This measure nonetheless, limits selection options to the few within their circles. Most importantly, relying on referrals does not guarantee protection from the attendant risks of poor contracting.
In essence, every project still requires a systematic approach to creating, executing and managing contracts; in addition to minimizing risks.
The Right Approach to Contract Management Services in Nigeria
Over the years managing contracts in Nigeria, we have learned key aspects of contract administrators should give attention to realize better project outcomes. These learnings have enabled us structure our services in a way that uniquely address the needs of our clients and the business climate we operate.
While this list is not exhaustive, it provides the essentials of our approach to managing contracts. This highly successful can be employed on your projects or within the context of your organisation.
Here are eight most important aspects we pay attention to when managing contracts:
1. Planning
When commissioned as contract managers and administrators, we elicit high-level requirements to ensure clarity of purpose from the very beginning. This enables us determine the most appropriate contract strategy.
We ensure we understand our clients, their preferences and risk appetites before entering into negotiations. This has enabled us deliver performing contracts to our clients over the years.
We also provide assistance in developing reviewing and preparing contract agreements and award of contracts; as wells as the style and type of management to be adopted during implementation.
Our contract evaluation strategy sets the direction for the overall evaluation of contractors and service providers and the associated tender process. Furthermore, we work conscientiously to mitigate and remove risks before our clients execute contracts with other involved.
” Our philosophy to contract administration is that getting the contract documents right in the first instance saves significant costs in a contract life cycle
2. Communicating
As contract administrators and managers, we set up a formal framework for communications, defining responsibilities, clear lines of communication and reporting arrangements consistent with the form of contract awarded. We also communicate regularly with contractor to review progress and discuss contract issues. The scope of authority of individuals especially those who will relate directly with contractors are defined during planning.
Finally, we ensure all parties are aware of how the contract is progressing, including any shortfalls by either party and any areas of concern which may have an adverse effect on performance.
3. Dispute Resolution
At Arch-Vision Workgroup Ltd, we ensure you have the right contract from the beginning in order to minimize risk. However, disputes from contractual relationships are sometimes an inevitable reality.
We are thus committed to resolving disputes on behalf of our clients as efficiently as possible by offering both practical and pragmatic advice while managing and administering contracts in Nigeria.
With our in-house capabilities and network of legal experts we assist clients in reaching an early resolution.
We understand the nature of Nigeria’s weak judicial system and consider this deeply during dispute resolution. For this reason, we are advocates of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) – a process where parties can seek to achieve settlement as an alternative to court action.
We also put our clients in touch with the right experts who can help with various dispute resolution methods including: Adjudication, Arbitration, Mediation and Expert determination.
4. Contract Monitoring
As part of our contract management services in Nigeria, we monitor contractor’s progress and performance to ensure deliverables conform to the requirements of the contract and report violations while pursuing remedies.
We identify contract and contractor issues that can lead to disputes and resolve them in a timely manner. This sometimes involves acting on the behalf of our clients to help both parties to come to an agreement.
We inspect and approve contract deliverables before authorizing payments consistent with contract terms.
We also conduct scheduled meetings with each team to review the status of individual contracts and the progress of the contracting program.
Other tools we use to monitor contractor performance while administering and managing contracts in Nigeria include but not limited to:
- Contractor Progress Reports
- Performance Assessment
- Product or Service Inspection & Acceptance
- Contractor Quality Assurance Plan
- Earned Value Management (EVM)
5. Managing Contract Records
An important component of our contract management services in Nigeria involves managing contract records and documentation.
We emphasize the importance of completing accurate contract documentation as a means of reducing risk when planning and implementing contracts. To this end, we limit potential liabilities to or clients by systematically managing contract documents and records.
As contract administrators and managers, we particularly:
- Manage the correspondence, data and reporting requirements of projects
- Maintain a repository of all contract files on behalf of the client
- Provide documentary evidences to our clients in cases of disputes or legal actions
” Our systematic procedure to the management of changes, claims, variations, extension of time and defects bring tighter controls to the contracts we manage
6. Managing Contract Changes
We handle the complications associated with contract changes using the Arch-Vision Workgroup Change Management System. Our change management system emphasizes a formal approach to initiating, planning, approving and executing contract changes.
We furthermore administer contract changes and close the changes ensuring that the new effort reflected in the contract change is performed by the parties in accordance with the revised contract requirements.
Our change management system reduces cost, ensure on-time delivery of contract deliverables, improves performance and enhance healthy relationships between our clients and contracting parties. Furthermore, our systematic procedure to the management of changes, claims, variations, extension of time and defects bring tighter controls to the contracts we manage. These tighter controls are necessary considering the business landscape of a country like Nigeria
7. Exercising Remedies
As contract administrators, we exercise remedies for non‐performance or sub‐standard performance.
We follow through to ensure and certify the successful execution of the terms of the contract and subsequent discharge from it as part of our dispute avoidance strategy.
At contract planning stage, we validate the inclusion of compensatory damages and equitable remedies in the contract and provide grounds for understanding the courses of actions in each case.
In cases of non-performance, material breaches or minor breaches, we seek out ways for remedies before advising a termination or a lawsuit.
In managing and administering contracts our overall aim is to protect the interests of our clients by ensuring performance or otherwise adequate and equitable compensations for non-performance.
8. Performing Contract Closeout
We perform all activities concerned with closing the contract.
These activities include, verifying receipt of final deliverables, documenting final acceptance, issuing final payment certificates, archiving complete records of all contracting activities, conducting a review of lessons learned and more.
We also coordinate the roles of multiple players involved in closing contracts.
Our methodologies of administering and managing contracts in Nigeria ensure the liabilities of our clients are reduced to the minimum possible.
If you are looking for a firm that offers contract management services in Nigeria, it is important to find one that can do more than just negotiate. Your project needs comprehensive services that enable you realize maximum value from your projects and business. For this reason, Archvision Workgroup Ltd provides the full scope of Contract Management Services uniquely tailored to tailored to our local context and business environment.
Learn more about ArchVision Workgroup Contract Administration Services
At ArchVision Workgroup, we tailor our services to all clients with an in-depth understanding of local intricacies; and by using proven methods, we guarantee repeatable, consistent and long term success on all projects we manage.
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