結論の解決策: Win-Win の契約体験を作成する

健全なサプライ チェーンは、最も困難な経済においてもビジネスを安定させるのに役立ちます。多くの企業にとって、2020 年は、ほとんどの企業が経験したことのないレベルの不確実性が日常業務にもたらされ、収益に壊滅的な打撃を与えました。多くの企業は、新たな人員配置と生産の課題に加え、リモートワークの要件と追加の安全プロトコルに直面しました。一部の企業はこれまでに見たことのない需要に遭遇しましたが、他の企業は需要のクレーターを見て、在庫のバックログに圧倒されました。

Whether your business is booming, vulnerable, or you're hanging on by a thread, making good decisions about your bottom line can accelerate growth and inject certainty back into your operations.

"Manufacturers are always looking for ways to increase their bottom line by finding and eliminating deficiencies in the supply chain. And this has never been more true or relevant than in the past year," says Jim Japczyk, Chief Financial Officer for Optimas.

There's no quick fix to re-strengthening the supply chain. It will take time and not every company will come out better, but for those that do, it can start by reaffirming the trust of your suppliers and your customers.

• あなたの契約は可能な限り健全ですか？
• それらは、あなたの新規および既存のパートナーシップに信頼感をもたらしますか?
• Can you sign on the dotted line knowing it's a win-win opportunity?

"Contracts provide an extra boost of certainty in business — an enterprise where you really want certainty," Japczyk advises. "The less you have to worry, the better. And if you can extend that certainty, that trust, beyond your business and into the supply chain, that benefits everybody. You never want to be the reason a customer's production line goes down and a healthy, well-intentioned contract can go a long way in ensuring everything runs smoothly."

What's the difference between a contract you could regret on Day 1 and a contract that allows for all parties to be well-represented?

Rebecca "Riv" Goldman is Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Optimas and responsible for streamlining our contracting process while reducing risk. As she suggests, "in a lot of ways, contracts are just contracts. They are legally enforceable pieces of paper. What elevates a partnership is often what you and your future partners do in the lead-up to signing the contract and how you communicate once the contract has been signed."

The team here at Optimas has accumulated decades of experience in all types of business partnerships along the parts supply chain and we are confident that our experience can assist your business in crafting a contract all parties are comfortable with. While there aren't many "secrets" behind contracts, the best ones work to include fairness and understanding to all parties.

Here's how your next contract — and all the ones that follow — can become your 一番 契約する。

目を丸くして契約交渉に入る

すべての企業が同じ場所で契約交渉に入るわけではありません。パンデミックをきっかけに、3 つの新しいサプライ チェーンの頭痛の種が発生し、将来の生産とサプライ チェーンの上下関係に影響を与える可能性があります。

1. 孤立したビジネス: These businesses were left high and dry as suppliers went under. Depending on the company's size, one broken link in the chain can shut down an entire production line. This can have catastrophic consequences in the short-term and potentially no long-term future to speak of.
2. 脆弱なビジネス: Now your business is the one scrambling. Instead of being left out in the cold by someone else, internal issues are causing you to hinder production for your customers. Whether it is processes, systems, efficiencies, talent, or financial, you're no longer standing on solid ground and your partners are feeling it too.
3. 強力なビジネス: Some businesses are doing as well or better during the pandemic than they were pre-2020. For them, it's about pulling ahead of a struggling competitor, uncovering new opportunities, and solidifying a reputation as a 信頼できるサプライ チェーン パートナー.ここでの頭痛は、十分にやっていないことと、成長のチャンスを指から逃したことを知っていることになります.

"Each of these headaches present a unique risk — but they also present opportunities for stronger, healthier contracts if you can identify the situation you and your partners are in," explains Japczyk. "By understanding where each business is, you can craft a contract that helps everyone. That means communicating now and in the future is top priority."

適切な人材を適所に配置する

オプティマスでは、契約開発プロセスを含むあらゆるビジネス活動のバックボーンとしての人材の重要性を提唱しています。

"Don't think of the creation of a contract as a one-person job — due to its scope, it shouldn't be, and due to its importance, you don't want it to be," says Goldman. "Contracts are like any other process in a business where you are going to want multiple eyes on it."

誰が関与するかは、ビジネスの規模と契約の複雑さによって異なります。ほとんどの中規模企業の場合、これには経営陣、法務チーム、財務チームが含まれます。また、販売と購買、運用、またはエンジニアリングが組み込まれている場合もあります。特定のサプライ チェーン マネージャーまたはその他の主要な担当者がいる場合は、彼らも関与している可能性があります。

Win-Win 契約の無形資産を理解する

健全な契約は健全なビジネスを指し、最も健全な契約はすべての関係者のニーズを優先するものです。

"Much like any marriage, a contract between two businesses should allow this new partnership to be stronger than the sum of its parts," offers Japczyk. "Contracts can help determine costs, price points, technologies, customer service, lead times, and capabilities. They can also help you respond to future unforeseen challenges that arise and, in the event the partnership does have to end, can help eliminate any hard feelings during the separation."

健全な契約の無形の特徴のほんの一部を次に示します。

• すべての側の公平性: You don't need to insert some type of "gotcha" clause to have a winning contract. What you sign today will create a partnership you may rely on for years or more. Ensuring fairness for all parties eliminates a lot of potential bad feelings that haunt a partnership later.
• 変更の予想: 状況が変化し、署名したときに契約を有効にしたものが、数年後またはリーダーシップの交代後に存在しない場合があります。関係を終了する必要がある場合、または単に修正する必要がある場合は、誰もが交渉の反対側を優雅に終了できるように保護が組み込まれています。
• 組み込みの境界: 原材料の価格など、確実に発生するが、どちらの当事者も制御できないことを考えてみてください。信頼できるインデックスに同意します。次に、指数の変化に合わせて部品の価格を変動させます。
• 柔軟性とコミュニケーション手段: Just because you've signed a contract, doesn't mean you need to be locked into that specific agreement. So much of business is about adapting to change and your contracts should similarly reflect that. Write your contracts with the understanding that something down the road could impact it and provide a process for amending the agreement if necessary.
• 明快さ: You shouldn't have to have an MBA and 20 years of legal experience to decipher a contract. While contracts are legally enforceable, they should be written so that anyone from the C-suite and your legal team to other participants can clearly understand the agreement being made.
• 罰則とその影響を理解している: 誰かが合意から逸脱した場合に何が起こり得るか、またどちらの側に何ができるかを知ることは、双方にとって有益です。罰金から完全な別居に至る場合もあれば、ある程度の再交渉が必要になる場合もあります。

"Optimas has been focusing on these areas for all of our contract development efforts," explains Goldman. "By building these intangibles into every contract, we — Optimas and all of our contract partners — start off in a better place and we usually stay in a better place. It's not about winning the negotiation, it's about creating a circumstance where all sides win and all sides can enjoy open communication and greater business success."

明らかな危険信号を避ける

数年の経験を持つほとんどのビジネス リーダーは、悪い契約の経験を思い出すことができます。それはあなたの口に生の味を残し、あなたの心に不信感を抱き、あなたのビジネスに利益をもたらす可能性のある将来のパートナーシップを追求することを望まないことさえあります.

"Nobody wants to feel like they are being taken advantage of, feeling forced into some agreement, or regretting a decision down the road," says Japczyk. "Sometimes bad contracts are because of things you can't control, but a lot of times, I've found, it's because one party ignored some obvious red flags from the start."

次の契約草案でそれらを見つけた場合は、丘を走ることを検討するか、少なくとも懸念を伝えることを検討してください。

1. 貧弱なドキュメンテーション: サプライヤーと顧客の間の合意を完全に文書化できないことは、将来の悪い感情の前兆になる可能性があります.各当事者が、相手に対して何を負っているのか、関係者全員が何を期待しているのかを理解することが重要です。
2. 承認の迷路: 定期的な手順に対する多くの承認を含む契約は、過度に複雑で腹立たしい契約を強調する可能性があります。承認には時間がかかり、価値を付加するのではなく、作業を台無しにし、収益性の高いパートナーシップを失速させる可能性があります。
3. Being asked to sign "unfinished" agreements: Contracts are legally enforceable and bad ones can ruin a company's bottom line. Avoid any agreement that opens the door for future things to be added to a contract that already has your name on the dotted line.

最終的な考え

契約のどの部分に取り組んでいるかに関係なく、良い交渉は、すべての側が満足している場合にのみ終了します。

"Healthy contracts ensure both parties are treated fairly," advises Japczyk. "It may sound cliché, but the best thing you can do is go into a contract negotiation with the original Golden Rule in mind. Do unto others as you want done unto you. When you construct a contract, aim to deliver one you'd still be happy to sign if you were in the other person's shoes."

Everyone wants to win when they sign a contract, but that doesn't mean any side has to lose. Win-win contracts are the foundation for great supply chain partnerships and a benefit to your bottom line.

Optimas と一緒に仕事をすることは、 すべての成功 終えた すべての人に公平 — with many of our most successful supplier and customer relationships dating back an average of 20 years. Is today the beginning of your company's next great business partnership? 会話を開始する 私たちのチームと一緒に、私たちを試してみてください!