Effective Commercial Management Skills

The key aim of any commercial manager is to improve the profitability of the organisation, this means not just focusing on the figures. Successful holistic commercial management involves recognition of not just the price and product but also strategic analysis, risk, delivery, strong client and suppliers relationships, and getting the right people on board to deliver the goods.

This 8 module course has been specifically developed to cover every aspect of this multi-faceted role. It provides best practice techniques and skills to allow you to understand how to choose and win the business, the subtleties of each contract, build lasting relationships, manage and mitigate risk and ultimately contribute positively to the bottom line every time.
h4. How does this on-line programme work and what do you get?

NB: Hard copy versions are available, professionally printed and bound. To find out more call customer services on +44 (0)20 7729 6677.

How does this on-line programme work and what do you get?

• Course access from anywhere through your own personal login and administration suite
• Keep track of your progress as you go
• Easy to use note taking and bookmarking facility to return to areas of interest and re-study
• Individual modules or the full course can be downloaded as PDF files to print or file as you decided
• At your convenience: at your desk, from your tablet or from your home computer
• An optional on-line multiple choice assessment at the end of the course for you to ensure you are satisfied with the completion of your training
• Certificate of completion awarded for your training records

Course benefits include:

• INCREASE your confidence when using shared financial information in decision-making
• ENABLE you to gain competitive advantage by developing mutually profitable relationships
• EMPOWER you to negotiate win:win deals everytime
• ADVANCE your strategic and commercial analysis skills to make profitable decisions

Who should take this course?

• Commercial directors and managers
• Contract directors and managers
• Business development directors and managers
• Sales and marketing directors and managers
• Commercial engineers
• Procurement and purchasing managers
• Operations
• Project managers
• Finance and HR managers
• Marketing and sales

How does this distance learning programme work and what do you get?

• Eight modules, each requiring between 3 to 4 hours study to be completed as you choose
• The course and its modules start at any time to suit you
• Modules may be downloaded to study on your PC or to print hard copies. (You may also opt to receive them printed-and-bound from us.)
• Each module has self-assessment progress questions and model answers
• The course has an optional on-line multiple choice assessment at the end, with a certificate of completion being awarded

Structured to fit into your working day

The course is designed to fit around your current commitments with each module requiring an average study time of 3-4 hours. Course content can be studied on-line via our unique Learning Management System or sent to you in hard copy format anywhere in the world. This offers the flexibility of studying at work, at home or on the move, while having access to confidential help and support from our experts.

On-line final assessment

The course has an optional on-line multiple choice assessment at the end, with a certificate on successful completion.

MODULE 1 – COMMERCIAL AWARENESS

• The importance of profit
• The value of intellectual property
• Using business analysis
• Applicable law
• What is a contract?
• Contract types, terms and formation
• Legal remedies
• Breach and damages
• Product liability
• Contract requirements
• Bringing the contract into effect
• Intentions to purchase and instructions to proceed
• Changing the contract

MODULE 2 – KEY ISSUES IN COMMERCIAL CONTRACTING AND RELATIONSHIPS

• Including the right boilerplate clauses
• Seller and buyer obligations
• Price and payment
• Delivery and the passing of property and risk
• Acceptance, rejection and inspection
• Time schedule for performance
• Cancellation and termination
• Warranties, bonds and guarantees
• Intellectual property rights
• Liabilities and indemnities
• Impact of competition law
• Importance of confidentiality
• Purchasing, procurement, buying and outsourcing
• Partnerships, partnering and joint ventures
• Win/win negotiations

MODULE 3 – STRATEGIC COMMERCIAL ANALYSIS

• Achieving business stability and growth
• Techniques of strategic analysis
• Approaches to market analysis
• Defining business unit strategy
• Competitor profiling
• Directional policy matrix
• Competitive positioning
• Differentiation and price
• Understanding the volume-cost-profit relationship
• The contribution approach
• Product and service pricing
• Cost profiling

MODULE 4 – COMMERCIAL OPTION APPRAISAL

• Tips and tricks of option appraisal
• Force-field analysis
• Stakeholder analysis
• Identifying financial sensitivity and evaluating risk exposure
• Evaluating business development options
• ‘AID’ analysis
• New business development options
• Key stages in business development
• Vision statement
• Quantum leap approach
• Strategic options
• Organisation structure
• Business development projects

MODULE 5 – PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT

• Essentials of the profit and loss account
• Essentials of the balance sheet
• Cash flow statement
• Key performance indicators: strategic, financial, operational, City
• Return on investment
• Freehold land and building valuation
• Profit margin on sales
• Asset turnover
• Ratios: stock, debtor, creditor, liquidity, current, quick, gearing, employee
• Comparisons with competitors

MODULE 6 – FINANCIAL ANALYSIS FOR DECISION-MAKING

• Budgets and budgeting control
• Overhead costs and capital expenditure
• Useful techniques for forecasting and reporting
• Effective cash management to ensure liquidity
• Improving profitability
• Product, service and customer profitability
• Practical financial techniques and commercial factors: evaluation, pay-back period, NPV and more
• Essential replacements and legislation requirements
• The management role
• Investment risks and rewards

MODULE 7 – COMMERCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT

• The risk pendulum
• Risk bearing, risk sharing
• Partnership sourcing and contracting
• Exclusion clauses
• Insurance
• Customer characteristics and company culture
• Key contractual milestones
• Residual obligations and risks
• Pricing
• Account management

MODULE 8 – COMMERCIAL MANAGEMENT OF PROJECTS

• Risk management through sensitivity analysis
• Analysis of price and volume changes
• Identify the risky parameters and tie them down
• Schedules and milestones
• Budgets for projects: labour, material, equipment and other costs
• Preparing estimates
• The project plan
• Monitoring a project to success
• Building in quality
• Overcoming problems effectively and without penalty

Tim Boyce has been involved in contract management for over 20 years. He began his career in the Ministry of Defence holding executive positions in contracts, contracts policy and finance. His industrial career began at Plessey in 1980 after which he enjoyed appointments with Siemens, British Aerospace and as commercial director at BAE Systems. His functional responsibilities have included contracts, commercial, procurement, estimating, legal, project accounting and the implementation of the European Business Excellence Model. He is a former member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS). His committee work included the CIPS National Contracts Management Committee, the CBI Contracts panel, the CBI Defence Procurement Panel and the CBI/MoD working groups on partnering and incentive contracting.

Paul Elkin provides consultancy services with a particular focus on business strategic development, performance management and corporate image. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. After many years in a range of senior management roles in both public and private sector industry with UK and US businesses
plus time with Price Waterhouse, he formed the TMMi group at the end of 1989.

Cathy Lake MA (Oxon) is a freelance editor, writer and project manager. During the past two decades, she has taken part in, and also managed, almost every aspect of the publishing process. She has worked for most of the major national publishers and has written about 40 training manuals and textbooks. As well as writing for commercial publishers in the UK and abroad she has also written management development workbooks for corporate clients.

Barrie Pearson is Chief Executive of Realization, which he established to provide world-class mentoring and coaching for CEOs and entrepreneurs in acquiring and disposing of companies. In 1976 Barrie Pearson founded Livingstone Guarantee plc, the first corporate finance boutique in the UK, advising on acquisitions, disposals, management buy-outs and buy-ins, fund-raising and stockmarket listings. When he sold it, the company had become the largest and most successful independent corporate finance house in the UK. He has written 17 books, including Trade Secrets of Business Disposals, and has presented seminars on acquiring and selling companies in the UK, Europe, New Zealand and SE Asia.

Ralph Tiffin is a chartered accountant and registered auditor – principal of McLachlan+Tiffin. The firm has a wide range of clients and supports clients with audit and advisory work in areas such as introduction of IFRS, ethics and fraud prevention. As consultant he acts for many companies in the UK and overseas on subjects ranging from understanding accounting for pharmaceutical companies, project appraisal, budgetary control systems through to fraud prevention. Ralph lectures and consults widely on accounting topics particularly on understanding what financial reports mean and how proper accounting practice can help business.

Falconbury’s distance learning programmes have been certified by the Academy of Distance Learning (ADLiB). ADLiB supplies an unbiased authentication of, and quality assurance for, distance learning programme providers.

Upon course completion, distance learning participants are invited to undertake a final external assessment in the form of an online multiple-choice paper.

Participants are required to achieve a pass rate of 80% and above to ensure that a high level of competence has been achieved within the subject area and to receive the advanced ‘Certificate of Excellence’. The final external assessment can be taken up to three times, thereafter the ‘General Certificate of Course Completion’ will be issued.

NB: The final external assessment is an optional appraisal and those participants not wishing to undertake it will automatically receive the ‘General Certificate of Completion’ for their personal development/training profile.

Find out more about ADLIB here.

The International Association for Distance Learning (IADL) promotes excellence in open, distance, and online learning worldwide, and provides a benchmark through which global consumers can gauge the quality of courses offered by their members.

The IADL is an independent, non-profit organisation with its principal administrative offices in London in the United Kingdom. Find out more.

Falconbury are an Approved Member of the International Association for Distance Learning.

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