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World Class Operations

Vendor Management

A process that governs the selection of vendors and subsequent management of vendor relationships, risk, and performance.

Immature or non-existent vendor management causes:

Lost opportunities to identify areas of potential cost savings (e.g., from contract renegotiation, vendor consolidation, etc.)
Vendor selection based on evaluation criteria that do not support or align with corporate goals.
Overspend of time, effort, and money on low-value vendors.
Lack of visibility and accountability for vendor performance.

A mature vendor management process results in:

Strategic partnerships with appropriate vendors that drive free flow of knowledge, process improvements, and high performance.
Standardized, consistent decision making around vendor selection, vendor relationship and contract management.
Clear roles and responsibilities for vendor interaction, including negotiation, dispute resolution, and other touch points.
Lower total cost of ownership, obtaining the best value from vendors rather than the lowest price.
Decreased business risk through awareness and management of vendor risk.

Here's How: 5 Days Custom to you

	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5
	Vendor Management Workshop
8 AM	Introduce VM and Sourcing Governance What is VM and who needs it? Identify VM pain points and things that are working well. Agree upon workshop goals. Review proven practices for sourcing governance. VM mandate, mission and goals Current state analysis summary Agreed upon workshop agenda and goals VM playbook: sourcing governance	Improve Vendor Relationship and Performance Management Segment vendor portfolio. Assess and improve vendor relationships. Define performance metrics and targets. Vendor heat map IT Sourcing Policy: vendor relationship and performance VM playbook: relationship and performance management Performance metrics and targets	Develop a Sourcing Strategy Define target sourcing models. Prepare for a successful transition. Rationalize the number of vendors. Define technology ownership strategy. Review proven practices and define next steps. Sourcing strategy assessment and next steps VM playbook: sourcing strategy	Optimize Vendor Selection, Contract, and Risk Management Improve vendor selection practices. Optimize contract management. Assess risks for selected vendors and plan risk responses. Sole or single source vendor selection form RFI / RFQ / RFP templates Vendor selection record template IT Sourcing Policy: vendor selection, contract, and risk management VM playbook: vendor selection, contract, and risk management Risk assessment summary and management plan	Define Next Steps and Prepare Communication Package Refine VM mission, goals. Finalize next steps. Prepare communication package. Verify achievement of workshop goals. Consolidated list of action points Finalized IT Sourcing Policy Finalized VM playbook VM communication package
9 AM
10 AM
11 AM
12 PM
1 PM
2 PM
3 PM
4 PM

Vendor Management Workshop Primary Deliverables

Communicate your Vendor Management to the business with clear visuals

Improved understanding of proven VM practices
Improved organizational capability in the area of VM
Improved capability to use VM tools and templates
Tailored IT Sourcing Policy
Tailored VM SOP
Communication package
Current state VM analysis summary
Target state of VM
Gap analysis summary
Next steps

WCO VM Workshop Presentation

VM Tools and Templates

Communication Package Template

Our Vendor Management Executive Advisors

Sandi Conrad Executive Advisor Over 20 years experience in software licensing, asset management, and service desk operations.

35+ years of IT strategy experience
Industry experience across Professional Services, Health Care, Manufacturing and Retail

David Piazza
Practice Lead
David brings over 15 years experience in the technology industry, as both a business leader and a consultant. His background includes developing products and services in the Information Security, HRIS, and IT Services Sectors.

WHY IMPROVE
GET IT DONE IN A WEEK
KEY DELIVERABLES
OUR EXPERTS

Book A Workshop

Our Vendor Management Workshop has one goal: Provide clear, measurable improvements to your current Vendor Management Process.

Each workshop is customized to the existing vendor management maturity level and specifics of your company. The first day will involve reviewing the high-level vendor management process flow to provide context for the workshop.

An overall diagnostic will be performed to identify process gaps and build commitment to the workshop. There will be a scoping discussion before each workshop that results in a customized agenda for the entire workshop.

We use the knowledge of your team and our Experienced Analysts to focus on critical performance issues and find cost-effective, high-impact solutions for quick implementation.

Talk to our Team

Download the Outline

Vendor Management Workshop Outline

Module 1: Introduce VM and Improve Sourcing Governance
Module 2: Improve Vendor Relationship and Performance Management
Module 3: Develop a Sourcing Strategy
Module 4: Optimize Vendor Management
Module 5: Define Next Steps and Prepare Communication Package

Module 1: Introduce VM and Improve Sourcing Governance

1.1 What is VM and who needs it?	1.2 Identify VM pain points and things that are working well	1.3 Agree upon workshop goals	1.4 Review proven practices for sourcing governance

Introduce VM	Discuss the current state of VM	Review workshop agenda	Introduce sourcing governance

List key internal stakeholders	List VM pain points and things that are working well	Review and finalize workshop goals	Assess existing VM policies

List goals for VM			Review Info-Tech's IT Sourcing Policy template

Define VM mission			Define target state: tailor the SOP

			Plan next steps to improve sourcing governance

Module 2: Improve Vendor Relationship and Performance Management

2.1 Segment vendor portfolio	2.2 Assess and improve vendor relationships	2.3 Define performance metrics and targets

Categorize vendors	Assess existing vendor relationships	Define performance metrics and targets

Analyze the vendor heat map	Understand ways to improve vendor relationships	Establish principles and policies for managing vendor performance

	Establish principles and policies for managing vendor relationships	Define target state: tailor the SOP

	Plan next steps to improve vendor relationships	Plan next steps to improve vendor performance management

Module 3: Develop a Sourcing Strategy

3.1 Define target sourcing models	3.2 Prepare for a successful transition	3.3 Rationalize the number of vendors	3.4 Define technology ownership strategy	3.5 Review proven practices and define next steps

Discuss sourcing options	Sourcing transition strategies	Single- vs. “best-of-breed” sourcing	Technology ownership: buy vs. rent (Cloud)	Establish principles and policies for managing sourcing strategy

Critical vs. commodity services/capabilities	Enablers of successful co- and out-sourcing	Single- vs. dual-sourcing	Plan next steps to leverage Cloud	Define target state: tailor the SOP

Analyze current sourcing models	Plan next steps to ensure successful transition	Plan next steps to rationalize the number of vendors		Refine strategic goals and aspirations for IT sourcing

Define target sourcing models				Plan next steps for sourcing strategy management

Define the optimal number of vendors

Plan next steps for sourcing strategy

Module 4: Optimize Vendor Selection, Contract, and Risk Management

4.1 Improve vendor selection practices	4.2 Assess risks for selected vendors and plan risk responses	4.3 Optimize contract management

Introduce vendor selection process	Identify, assess, and prioritize vendor risks and plan risk responses	Discuss contract life cycle

Review and adapt sole or single source vendor selection form	Establish principles and policies for managing vendor risk	Review contract negotiation tools

Review and improve RFI, RFQ, and RFP templates	Define target state: tailor the SOP	Proven practices for vendor contracts

Review and adapt vendor response evaluation template	Plan next steps to institutionalize vendor risk management	Establish policies for managing vendor contracts and records

Review vendor selection record template		Define target state: tailor the SOP

Establish principles and policies for selecting vendors		Plan next steps to optimize contract management

Define target state: tailor the SOP

Plan next steps to improve vendor selection

Module 5: Define Next Steps and Prepare Communication Package

5.1 Define VM roles and organization structure	5.2 Refine VM mission and goals	5.3 Finalize next steps and prepare communication package	5.4 Verify achievement of workshop goals

Introduce VM roles and organization structure	Review and refine VM mission and goals defined on day 1	Review and consolidate next steps	Review workshop results against goals set on day 1

Define target state: tailor VM roles and organization structure	Define VM guiding principles	Prepare communication package	Gather feedback

Plan next steps to establish VM roles and organization structure		Create distribution plan

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