READOS / Business
Suppliers, Contractors and Government Work
Managing suppliers and contractors after award, sourcing decisions, and working with and for government.
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- 01Not every supplier is a partner: segmenting suppliers for price, reliability or capabilitySome suppliers should be managed for price, others for reliability, capability or innovation. How to segment suppliers by value and dependency, and give each group the right relationship.
- 02Collaboration with contractors is a practice, not a contract typeTwo businesses can sign the same contract and behave very differently. How to build collaboration into ordinary contracts, include subcontractors and see the real culture under pressure.
- 03Evidence, not confidence: using inspection and test plans to accept supplier workTrust helps work move, but evidence decides whether it can be accepted and paid for. How inspection and test plans, hold points and witness points make supplier work provable.
- 04Before you buy big equipment: planning the physical path from supplier to installationWhy a good price means little if equipment cannot be transported, received, stored, lifted, powered and installed when needed, and how to plan the whole delivery chain before you commit.
- 05Local or offshore manufacturing: comparing the whole system, not the unit costHow to compare keeping production local, modernising, moving offshore or partnering, using total system cost, quality capability, transition risk, dependency and reversibility.
- 06The hidden costs of outsourcing a function: oversight, change, exit and the work nobody wrote downOutsourcing quotes cover the specified work. How to count transition, oversight, change and exit costs, and find the unwritten work a function does before a contract quietly stops it.
- 07When a key contractor fails: security, retention and keeping the work movingA bond or retention can soften the financial loss when a contractor fails, but it cannot finish the job. How to choose proportionate security, spot distress early and plan for continuity.
- 08When a key supplier changes owner: the contract continues, but what you relied on may notA supplier can be sold to an owner you would never have chosen, and your contract may not notice. How to test your exposure, negotiate rights you would use and keep a real alternative.
- 09Grants, tax incentives and selling to government: what to check before you rely on themPublic support and government contracts can help a small business grow, but programs change and carry conditions. How to find what fits, keep evidence and stay viable if it never arrives.
- 10Delivering public outcomes as a government supplier: public value, accountability and last-mile deliveryGovernment contracts are judged on public outcomes, not just outputs. How suppliers can frame public value, support accountability, design last-mile delivery and govern as a control system.
- 11Public-private partnerships: when they fit, testing value for money and governing the contract for decadesA PPP is a long-term business model, not a financing trick. How to test whether a project suits one, read the public sector comparator honestly and govern the contract over its life.
These topic-based reading collections are organised alphabetically; chapters may be read in any order.
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