IT departments increasingly depend on vendors to deliver complex services. Effective vendor management (VM) at each stage of the relationship, from specification to contract renewal, is essential to ensure excellent value.
- If you don’t manage vendor contracts properly there is a lack of vendor accountability to ensure that performance levels and compliance regulations are being met, and that opportunities for cost-savings are being realized.
- The objective of great VM is to get vendors to move beyond good enough, and to convert reluctant stakeholders into enthusiastic supporters.
- Good VM doesn’t just happen. Assigning clear responsibility for each area of VM to appropriately skilled individuals will significantly improve the quality of vendor services.
VM specialists must work cooperatively with the procurement department and major stakeholders – VM and any formal Vendor Management Office (VMO) cannot succeed in isolation.