Operational briefings
Insights
Written for country managers, project directors, CFOs and procurement leads. Each briefing says what to do, what it costs you to get wrong, and where the legal boundary sits.
Establishing an operational presence in Baghdad
Most companies entering Iraq build too much too early. Here is the minimum operating base, in the order it is actually needed.
Private office or virtual office in Baghdad
The choice is not about prestige. It is about how often somebody is physically in Baghdad and what they do when they are.
What an Iraq operations report should show
A monthly report is not a summary of activity. It is the document that lets somebody who was not in Iraq form a view about what happened there.
Auditable procurement in Iraq
The problem with local purchasing is rarely dishonesty. It is that entirely proper purchasing cannot be evidenced afterwards.
Selecting and monitoring Iraqi suppliers
Iraqi supply markets are wide and shallow: many trading names, fewer real capabilities, and a great deal of intermediation.
Local hiring and payroll administration
Six Iraqi employees generate the same administrative surface area as sixty. That is the part most foreign companies underestimate.
Using a Virtual Branch Manager
A Virtual Branch Manager is a named local representative acting within a written scope — not a country manager and not a signatory.
Bidding for tenders in Iraq
Most bids in Iraq are not lost on price. They are lost weeks earlier, at the document check, by companies that were technically capable and administratively unready.
Executive travel to Iraq
Senior visits to Iraq rarely fail because of the country. They fail because of a forty-minute gap at an airport.
Soft-skin or armoured?
The choice is an assessment, not a preference — and the right answer is more often soft-skin than people expect.
Mobilising an international project
Mobilisation is a sequencing problem. One item arriving out of order makes the rest of the plan academic.
Facilities management for offices and residences
A building does not fail gradually. It fails on a Thursday evening, and the question is whether there is a number to call.
Operational support for embassies and organisations
Missions rarely lack suppliers. They lack one accountable point, and a handover pack that survives a rotation.
Managing an executive or board visit
A board visit is expensive in a currency that is not money. Plan it backwards from what it has to conclude.
Closing and demobilising a project
Exits rarely fail dramatically. They fail by attrition, and the bill arrives two years later.
Common questions
What are these briefings for?
They are what we have learned running this work, written down for people who have to make Iraq function — not commentary, and not marketing. Each one answers a question we get asked repeatedly.
Are they legal advice?
No. They are operational briefings. Where a subject touches legal or regulatory ground the briefing says so and points to Salt & Associates, who are engaged separately for that work.
How current are they?
Each briefing carries a published date and a last-reviewed date. Iraq moves, so anything time-sensitive is worth confirming with us before you act on it.
Can we reuse a briefing internally?
Yes, for your own internal use, with attribution. Tell us if you want something written for a specific internal audience and we will discuss it.
Want this applied to your operation?
Send us the situation and we will tell you which parts apply to you.