Industry model contracts are pre-written templates that include widely accepted terms. They save time and legal costs during contract development and are generally written to be neutral or fair toboth parties. They do not remove the need for buyers to understand the terms and are not necessarily highly flexible.
Reference:CIPS L4M3 Commercial Contracting Study Guide, Chapter 3, Section 3.1.3 - Use of industry standard form contracts.

A service-level agreement (SLA) is a commitment between a service provider and a client. Particular aspects of the service - quality, availability, responsibilities - are agreed between the service provider and the service user. The most common component of an SLA is that the services should be provided to the customer as agreed upon in the contract.
A customer service charter is a document that outlines how an organization promises to work with its customers along with providing insights into how an organization operates.
A service guarantee is a marketing tool service firms have increasingly been using to reduce consumer risk perceptions, signal quality, differentiate a service offering, and to institutionalize and professionalize their internal management of customer complaint and service recovery.
Reference: CIPS study guide page 110
LO 2, AC 2.2

Product Liability Insurance is a form of general liability insurance meant to protect a business from financial and legal consequences as a result of bodily injury or property damage due to the use of the business's sold goods or products. Situations that are typically covered by Product Liability Insurance may include:
- A customer harms herself because of the faulty packaging on one of your products
- A drapery set that a customer purchased from your business was highly flammable and caught on fire, eventually damaging her entire kitchen
- A customer with a severe allergy finds trace amounts of tree nuts in your homemade gourmet muffins
- A homemade house cleaner that you sell damaged one of your customer's entire hardwood floor
- A customer becomes sick with food poisoning after eating old shellfish at your restaurant, goes to the hospital, and incurs medical costs caused by your contaminated food products
- A customer's pet becomes ill from ingesting some lining in a pet toy product that you sell In the scenario above, the supermarket is purchasing and reselling house cleaner, which can be covered by product liability insurance.
Public liability insurance is a type of business insurance that covers the cost of claims made by the public that happen in connection with the business activities.
Professional indemnity (PI) insurance is a commercial policy designed to protect business owners, freelancers and the self-employed if clients claim a service is inadequate.
Reference: CIPS study guide page 150-153
LO 3, AC 3.2

Procurement staff in the Hospital is forcing suppliers into fixed price contract. If the costs generally rise, supplier may operate at a loss. This situation can disrupt the relationship, that is the reason why some suppliers refusing to deal with BDH and a few going out of business mid-way.
Alternative methods could be variable pricing arrangement. This method would reimburse the fluctuation of market price. It will also benefit buyer if the market price drops. This type of arrangement should be applied to long-term contracts (i.e. 18 months or more).
Reference: CIPS study guide page 179-184
LO 3, AC 3.3

An invitation to treat is an action inviting other parties to make an offer to form a contract. These actions may sometimes appear to be offers themselves, and the difference can sometimes be difficult to determine. The distinction is important because accepting an offer creates a binding contract while "accepting" an invitation to treat is actually making an offer.
One simple test to distinguish an offer and an invitation to treat is to ask what this statement will become when it is accepted. Now we apply this test to four options:
- Tender bid: Tender bid is submitted by a supplier to an invitation to tender from the buyer. It states the specific quantity, price and other elements. If buyer accepts the bid, there will be a contractbetween them.
Therefore, a tender bid is an offer.
- Purchase order: Purchase order which is sent by a buyer will state the items, the quantity, the price and terms and conditions. If supplier accepts the purchase order, there will also be a contract between two parties. It is also an offer.
- Price list: Price list is prepared by a supplier. The price list often states the items and unit price. If a buyer accepts it, the contract has not yet been formed since the contract scope has not yet been decided. It is an invitation to treat.
- Invoice: Invoice is often sent after a contract is formed. It is in fact a request for payment, neither offer nor invitation to treat.
Reference:
- CIPS study guide page 29-32
- What Is an Invitation to Treat?
LO 1, AC 1.1