Commercial Awareness Training

Course Title: Commercial Awareness for Engineering, Project Management and Sales & Marketing Staff: 1 Day

Sample Course Content

Overview

This one-day programme has been developed to provide the participants with an introduction to key commercial issues that engineering and project management staff need to be aware of in order to provide a successful commercial result for a project. The course will also be of interest to sales and marketing staff.                             

Training Objectives

Development of an understanding of commercial awareness and its relationship to successful management of a project and its internal and external stakeholders including customers, suppliers and partners. Although the course is designed to be applicable to most businesses, specific reference is made to issues that commonly arise in dealing with the UK MoD as a customer in the defence industry. 

Target Audience

Engineers and Project Management staff who need to be commercially aware in order to provide the best commercial result for the company when tendering or performing contracts.

Format

This comprehensive one day course is based on formal presentation material from the expert trainer and practical case examples / studies. Time will be set aside for participants to raise issues of particular interest to them.

Special Features

The course is run in a workshop format to facilitate participants raising any issues of particular concern to them.

The Expert Trainer

Mike is a qualified accountant and commercial specialist and provides commercial consultancy services to clients in the UK industry related to contracting with the UK MoD.

He has a broad experience of practical commercial interaction with the UK MoD gained over a thirty year period of working within the UK aerospace and defence industry and has held a number of senior commercial positions in major companies within the UK defence industry.

Course Content

Day 1

1) The commercial environment in which companies operate – identification of stakeholders and their differing objectives and priorities.

2) Accounts including establishing the difference between revenue and cash. Understanding a profit and loss account and balance sheet. Budgets, cost estimating, project accounting and the importance of cash flow to a business.

3) Risk & Opportunity Management: Identification, recording, reviewing, mitigating and eliminating risk. Use of risk registers – internal and shared with stakeholders. Identifying opportunities as well as risks.

 4) Basic principles of contracts & non-disclosure agreements

 5) Working outside and/or in advance of contract requirements. Managing contract change. Identifying contractual obligations hidden within a  Statement of Work or Technical Requirements

 6) Business approval and decision making processes. The importance of good communication. Management Structures, Tender Approvals/ Project Reporting

 7) Supplier & Partner Management – some basic points of good commercial practice

 8) The importance of sound business processes in helping to manage commercial risk. Developing processes to ensure repeatability of project out-turns. Ensuring better management of issues and problems – avoiding surprises.

 9) Developing Business opportunities from existing projects.

Please get in touch with us for more details with respect to course pricing and availability.