Lehrgang
Certificate course Commercial Project ManagementNeu
Successfully managed projects in mechanical engineering and plant engineering
Mechanical engineering, plant engineering, and infrastructure projects drive Germany's industrial strength, usually backed by world-class technical engineering. While technical excellence is often the primary focus, the commercial and economic project dimensions are frequently overlooked or managed in silos, leading to commercial risks, margin losses, and financial inefficiencies. This can arise even in technically successful projects, when non-technical and commercial tasks are neglected.
Commercial Project Management integrates all non-technical, commercial, financial, contractual, and legal aspects of a project in the entire project lifecycle under a single, strategic framework. As a counterpart to technical project management, it ensures transparency, profitability, and sustainable project success by bridging the gap between engineering teams and commercial departments. While connecting engineering, procurement, controlling, sales, contract management, and claim management, a commercial project manager creates the foundation for informed decision-making and effective project execution. This unified approach secures project margins while maintaining a clear, holistic perspective on long-term profitability.
The certificate course Commercial Project Management is designed and regularly updated by experienced practitioners from major national and international projects in German and multinational industrial companies and combines practical relevance with current industry requirements. The program addresses the growing demand for commercial expertise in complex national and international projects. It enables participants to successfully manage commercial project responsibilities alongside technical requirements.
The VDMA Academy offers this certificate course in cooperation with the GPM Deutsche Gesellschaft für Projektmanagement e.V. The course is based on the official GPM Standard for Commercial Project Management. Participants of the certificate course have the option to obtain a voluntary certification through PM-ZERT for an additional fee.
Inhalte
Projects in Order Execution Mode (Modul 1)
Contract project types
Project phases and project structures
Remuneration and pricing models
Organization (Modul 2)
Role of the commercial project manager
Project organization and governance
Interface management between technical and commercial functions
Planning, Controlling and Reporting (Modul 3)
Project controlling method
Earned value management
Performance measurement and reporting
Calculation and Economic Evaluation (Modul 4)
Project costing and project calculation
Estimation methods
Economic efficiency analysis
Risk Management (Modul 5)
Risk identification and risk assessment
Risk mitigation strategies
Risk provisioning and contingency planning
Contract, Change and Claims Management (Modul 6)
Contract negotiation and contract administration
Change management processes
Claims management and claims enforcement
International Commercial Project Management (Modul 7)
International legal systems
Dispute resolution mechanisms
Cultural awareness in international projects
Cash Management (Modul 8)
Payment security and guarantees
Foreign currency hedging
Receivables and liquidity management
Taxes (Modul 9)
International taxation
Permanent establishments
Double taxation agreements
Management of a Project Office (Modul 10)
Local project office setup and management
Expatriate management
Site infrastructure and administration
Insurances (Modul 11)
Insurance management within projects
Liability coverage concepts
Risk transfer mechanisms
Project Closure (Modul 12)
Project acceptance and handover
Post calculation and financial review
Lessons learned and continuous improvement
Methods
A well-balanced blend of interactive live online webinars and flexible self-study phases, complemented by compact on-site classroom sessions. This course combines realistic case studies, practical exercises, and professional exchange among peers within interdisciplinary groups to ensure direct knowledge transfer of commercial project management methods and tools.
How will you benefit from this course?
You will qualify to commercially manage domestic and international projects by mastering contract execution, cost estimation, risk assessment, and claims management. The course enables you to safeguard project margins, improve project performance, and contribute to long-term business success. The dual certificate from VDMA Academy and PM-ZERT (optional) enhances your expertise to lead complex, large-scale industrial projects successfully.
Who shall attend?
The certificate course is aimed at project managers and sub-project managers, senior project engineers, and technical coordinators, as well as department heads, team leads, and commercial advisors. It addresses professionals from engineering, design and construction, production and assembly, sales, procurement, controlling, as well as contract/claim management. This course is ideal for engineers seeking their commercial expertise, and commercial specialists developing professional qualification in managing national and international industrial projects.
Certificate
The certificate course concludes with a written examination organized by VDMA Academy. An optional professional assessment center is administered by PM-ZERT, the certification body of GPM. Upon successful completion of the certificate course, you will receive a certificate from the VDMA Academy. The PM-ZERT certificate “Commercial Project Manager” can be obtained after participation in an Assessment Day. Further information on certification by PM-ZERT, additional fee, and registration can be found on the PM-ZERT website.
Lehrgangsleitung
Dr. Burkhard G. Müller
Insurance & Public Funding Manager E&C Europe at Air Liquide, with over 25 years of international experience in engineering and construction. His background in commercial project management includes project controls, international claims, and commercial risk. He also co-leads the GPM special interest group on “Commercial Project Management”.
Prof. Dr. Lorenz Schneider
is a lecturer for industrial engineering & management at FOM University and managing director of a strategic project management consultancy. With extensive international background as a project director for large-scale infrastructure projects, he is a certified IPMA Level A/B Project Manager with strong expertise in Commercial Project Management.
Veranstaltungsdetails
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