News From The Front Line

Today sees the start of the IACCM Americas conference, in Orlando. This year, we have a new model, partnering with Shared Services and Outsourcing Network.

An immediate difference for past attendees is the numbers of delagates. There are around 900 converging on the event this year. But of course a key difference is that they come from a much wider array of business functions, in particular, business operations, IT, Finance and Human Resources.

IACCM will run dedicated sessions for the contracts, legal and procurement community, as well as offering them the chance to join other tracks which explore many aspects of outsourcing and shared service delivery. For the SSON delegates, we provide the opportunity to engage on an area which they have identified as a primary interest and concern – the role of contracting and relationship management in structuring and managing their external relations.

Our goals in creating this combined event are to increase both cross-functional and inter-company collaboration and understanding. There is extensive evidence that long-term services contracts depend for their success on cooperation and governance standards, rather than on traditional contract terms. They demand a commitmnet to high quality communication and performance management which is achieved only through trust and respect for stakeholder views.

We know that shared events like this are just a beginning; but all innovations must start somewhere – and for the world of contracts, that ‘somewhere’ is Orlando, today.

The IACCM / SSON conference series continues with the European event taking place in May (24th – 26th, Edinburgh) and the Asian event in Singapore (September 20th – 22nd).