Contracts and Procurement
Most projects need goods, works or services that cannot be delivered in-house. Procurement is how a team decides what to buy and from whom, and the contract sets out what each party must do. Getting both right protects cost, quality, time and risk for the rest of the project (APM, 2025a).
Technique Overview
Contracts and Procurement Definition
A contract is an agreement between two or more parties that creates legally binding obligations, setting out what each party must do and what happens if they do not (APM, 2025a). A procurement strategy is the high-level approach for securing the goods and services needed from external suppliers to satisfy project, programme and portfolio needs (APM, 2025a). Together they turn a plan for outside help into an accountable working relationship.
Contracts and Procurement Description *
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Business Evidence
Strengths, weaknesses and examples of Contracts and Procurement *
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Business Application
Implementation, success factors and measures of Contracts and Procurement *
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Further Reading
Contracts and Procurement web and print resources *
Contracts and Procurement references (4 of up to 20) *
- Association for Project Management (APM) (2025a) APM Body of Knowledge. 8th edn. Available at: apm.org.uk/apm-body-of-knowledge/
- Association for Project Management (APM) (2017) APM Guide to Contracts and Procurement: For Project, Programme and Portfolio Managers. Available at: apm.org.uk/book-shop/apm-guide-to-contracts-and-procurement/
- Association for Project Management (APM) (2025b) How Shared Vision Led to the Timely and On Budget Delivery of Thames Tideway Tunnel Project. Available at: apm.org.uk/news/how-shared-vision-led-to-the-timely-and-on-budget-delivery-of-thames-tideway-tunnel-project/
- Balfour Beatty (nd) Anglian Water @one Alliance. Available at: balfourbeatty.com/what-we-do/projects/anglian-water-one-alliance/
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