Establish a Sustainable Vendor Management Office | Info-Tech Research Group

Do not fill in this field

Enter no text in this field

Get Instant Access
to This Blueprint

Business Email

Full Name

Company

Phone

Job Title

A large percentage of organizations do not have a formalized vendor management process, leaving the entire organization vulnerable to poor business outcomes.
Because it is so hard to quantify ROI for vendor management activities and resources, it often doesn’t get done effectively.
Managing vendors is a cross-functional endeavor. Without a solid internal foundation, effective vendor management is likely to fall short of achieving value-added outcomes.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

Define what vendor management means for your organization. The definition is dependent on your organization’s size and structure.
Vendor management does not exist in a vacuum. It is integrated and dependent on other business and IT processes, such as project management, requirements gathering, procurement, and compliance.
The internal relationships need to be strong before your vendor relationships can be strong. Make sure your organization can present a united front.
Understand exactly where you are consuming resources in terms of people and time invested into these solutions. This is a holistic perspective on resource allocation that will drive visibility upwards to senior management and force a ROI or cost-benefit dialogue.

Impact and Result

Taking a proactive approach to managing your vendors will help negotiate relationships where everyone’s best interests are accommodated.
The approach begins by laying the foundation for a thorough vendor management function within your organization.

Establish a Sustainable Vendor Management Office Research & Tools

Start here – read the Executive Brief

Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should carefully plan your vendor management process, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the different ways we can support you in completing this project.

Establish a Sustainable Vendor Management Office – Executive Brief

1. Define vendor management strategy

Define vendor management and complete a vendor management office (VMO) strategic roadmap.

2. Design vendor management office

Map your organization to an organizational structure and staffing model.

3. Develop vendor management governance

Clarify value proposition and launch internal roadshow to gain stakeholder buy-in.

Member Testimonials

After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this blueprint and what our clients have to say.

9.7/10

Overall Impact

$60,030

Average $ Saved

30

Average Days Saved

Client

Experience

Impact

$ Saved

Days Saved

Testimonial

University Of Alaska

Guided Implementation

10/10

$117K

N/A

The best part was getting some very detailed and usable information from Gordana. She seemed very knowledgeable.

Wavestone US

Guided Implementation

10/10

$12,292

10

Understanding the vendor risk management tools. Thank you Gordana for the time!

Summa Health System

Guided Implementation

8/10

N/A

10

I'm not certain as to the financial impact of the tools and advice. Rated an 8 because I'm not sure as to the value of the experience yet. Only time will tell. Perhaps it would be a good idea to follow-up at a later date. Best parts - Feedback and gu...

National Life Group

Guided Implementation

8/10

$123K

5

Agheritage Farm Credit Service

Guided Implementation

7/10

N/A

N/A

Paysafe Technologies Inc.

Guided Implementation

10/10

N/A

10

unfortunately I cannot yet estimate the financial impact; the introductory calls to this topic are extremly helpful, the tools provided and the recommendations, expertise knowledge is valuable to me, especially in the starting phase;

Pima Community College

Guided Implementation

10/10

N/A

N/A

Dentons Canada LLP

Guided Implementation

8/10

N/A

N/A

CFA Institute

Guided Implementation

4/10

N/A

N/A

MUFG Investor Services

Guided Implementation

8/10

N/A

N/A

Office of Information Services for Oregon Health Authority (OHA) & Department of Human Services (DHS)

Workshop

8/10

N/A

N/A

Related to the two questions above, I think that the tools and advice were very valuable, and will help us in forming our VMO, I just don't have a way to equate that to time saved or financial impact. Our experience with the workshop was very good. The tools provided were helpful, as were the discussions about best practices, and how those practices could be used in our organization.

Load More Testimonials

Workshop: Establish a Sustainable Vendor Management Office

Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

Module 1: Define Vendor Management Strategy

The Purpose

Define vendor management strategy.

Key Benefits Achieved

Define vendor management for your organization.
Complete a strategic roadmap to document your current state and desired future state.

Activities

Outputs

1.1

Envision your ideal future state.

VMO Strategic Roadmap

1.2

Calculate your current vendor management maturity.

1.3

Conduct a gap analysis.

1.4

Write a migration plan.

1.5

Create accountability and define clear roles.

RASCI Chart

Module 2: Design the Vendor Management Office

The Purpose

Design organization and staffing model.

Key Benefits Achieved

Map organizational model to business needs.
Plan staffing model.

Activities

Outputs

2.1

Assess and map your organization to a deployment model.

Vendor Management Competency Framework

2.2

Assess your staff’s core competencies.

2.3

Create vendor management job descriptions.

Vendor Management Job Descriptions

Module 3: Develop the Vendor Management Office Governance

The Purpose

Develop key governance structures.

Key Benefits Achieved

Define value metrics and value proposition.
Write mission and charter.
Gain stakeholder buy-in.

Activities

Outputs

3.1

Define mission and charter.

Vendor Management Mission and Charter

3.2

Establish value metrics.

3.3

Launch internal roadshow.

Internal Survey

About Info-Tech

Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.

We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.

What Is a Blueprint?

A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.

Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.

Need Extra Help?
Speak With An Analyst

Get the help you need in this 3-phase advisory process. You'll receive 7 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.

Guided Implementation 1: Define vendor management strategy

Call 1: Define the vendor management organization’s mission.
Call 2: Review VMO strategic roadmap.

Guided Implementation 2: Design vendor management office

Call 1: Map organization structure to deployment model.
Call 2: Review vendor management staffing model.

Guided Implementation 3: Develop vendor management governance

Call 1: Clarify value proposition.
Call 2: Establish value metrics.
Call 3: Launch internal roadshow.

Author

Steven Jeffery

Contributors

Ronald Flockhart, Group Sourcing Head at FirstRand Group
Carla Di Castro, Senior Global Sourcing Manager at Workday
Gerry Pettit, Director IT Vendor Management at CB&I
Evan Bortzfield, Sr. Sourcing Specialist at Riverbed Technology
Phil Kaylor, Express Scripts
One anonymous contributor

Search Code: 81424
Last Revised: May 17, 2019

TAGS:

VMO, Vendor management, vendor management office, vendor management process, stakeholder buy-in, vendor management governance, vendor management org design, vendor management staffing model, vendor management 101, vendor managers, vendor management core competencies, Video, Whiteboard, Whiteboard Series

Visit our IT Cost Optimization Center
Over 100 analysts waiting to take your call right now: 1-519-432-3550 x2019