Facing increased complexity and market volatility, executive management needs new and improved sources of business information and control. A well-designed contracting process offers the solution, as well as unleashing substantial improvements to the bottom-line.

Based on a survey undertaken by the International Association for Contract & Commercial Management (IACCM) in October 2014 and drawing input from more than 300 international corporations and public sector organizations, this paper briefly describes the forces that are driving ‘contracting competence’ and provides a summary status of current strengths and weaknesses in contract management process and skills.