PARATUS COMMERCIAL AWARNESS WORKSHOP ‘Unlocking Your Commercial & Contractual Potential’

Posted on 27 March 2025

Developed from knowledge and experience gained over more than three decades across the extended supply 
chains of a number of industry sectors including energy, renewables, manufacturing, construction and the 
public sector for the provision of goods and services, this interactive workshop with realistic case studies and 
exercises throughout, will equip delegates with the tools and techniques to minimise commercial and 
contractual exposure and maximise efficiency and performance in an operational environment across a range 
of supply chains 

Feedback to date includes comments such as “really insightful and thought provoking”, “good balance of 
theory and practical”, “good tools and examples shared” and “easy to follow examples and not overly legal or 
technical in language”. 

Target audience: 

- Individuals looking to develop their commercial and contractual knowledge at an operational level 
- Early stage or growing SME businesses looking to unlock their commercial and contractual potential 
utilising proven tools and techniques to deliver measurable value to their customers and grow their 
business. 
- People in larger organisations who have influencing or decision-making responsibilities where they 
might sometimes find themselves having to make well intended decisions in an operational 
environment which can result in commercial or legal consequences for the organisation. 
- Refresher training for people in commercial/contractual roles who would benefit from insight into the 
broader aspects of extended supply chains. 

Outcomes and benefits 

The following are outcomes and benefits that have been pulled together from the feedback of over 100 
workshop attendees to date.  

For Individuals: 

• Enhanced understanding of contract basics and commercial principles 
• Ability to spot risky terms and conditions in contracts 
• Improved negotiation skills and confidence in business dealings 
• Knowledge of supply chain dynamics and objective-based planning 
• Awareness of value creation from both customer and supplier perspectives 
• Techniques to maximise efficiency and contractual performance 
• Understanding of when and how to challenge or walk away from toxic contracts 
• Ability to put learnings into practice immediately 

For Companies: 

• Employees better equipped to review/understand contracts and make sound operational decisions 
that have commercial consequences 
• Risk reduction through a balanced approach to agreements 
• Increased operational efficiency via focus on value-adding activities within customer and supplier 
contracts 
• Enhanced relationships with customers and suppliers 
• Development of robust systems, procedures and controls 
• Support in linking objectives between corporate, business and operational levels 
• Building agility to seize market opportunities 
• Achieving sustainability through profitability and managing risk 
• Upskilling teams leading to improved staff retention 

Workshop content: 

The following are details of the content of the workshop 

• Business Evolution - from startup, through SME to multinational. This highlights to delegates the 
fundamental differences in resources, responsibilities and decision making within different sized 
businesses 
• The Business Landscape - a moving target. Highlighting the fact that things can change rapidly or over 
time that in turn influence supply and demand, availability and costs 
• Negotiation Exercise. This draws out the basic level behaviours and perceptions of delegates early on 
in the day which in turn can help feed examples throughout the workshop 
• The contracting efficiency challenge - making the most of conflicting resources 
• Customer and Supplier profiling and why it matters. Allowing delegates to see supplier/customer 
relationships from a variety of perspectives  
• Objective based planning and delivery across supply chains - the why and how. This is a business 
model developed to suit a wide range of purposes from lessons learned to project supply chain 
planning 
• Value creation - from the supplier and customer perspective 
• Formation of contracts 
• Consumer contracts versus B2B contracts 
• Key contractual principles/clauses - what to look for and how to challenge, manage or walk away 
from. 
• Next steps - putting it into practice 

This workshop is ideal if you are looking to do one or more of the following; 

• If you are looking to maximise your profitable win potential with customers and get a fair return for 
your performance. 

• If you are in an operational/technical role with input or responsibility for contractual and commercial 
performance. 

• If you are looking to get the best from your suppliers. 

• If you want to bring innovation and genuine value creation to you customers but want to avoid 
carrying all the risk. 

• If you want to invite innovation and genuine value creation from your suppliers and the extended 
supply chain. 

IN-HOUSE WORKSHOPS 
As well as public workshops to cater for individuals and/or smaller businesses, we run in house workshops for 
larger sized businesses or where a cluster of local businesses pool together to make up the numbers locally.  

Please drop me a line at steve@paratuscommercial.com if you would like any further information or would like 
to be kept updated on future workshop dates.