You’re a startup founder with a lot of vendors. How can you manage them all?

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As a startup founder, you have a lot on your plate. You need to develop your product, find customers, raise funds, and hire talent. But you also need to work with vendors who provide you with essential goods and services, such as materials, software, logistics, or marketing. How can you manage them all without losing focus, wasting money, or compromising quality? Here are some tips to help you build and maintain effective vendor relations.

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Karthikeyan Varadarajan (VK)

Founder | Global Apparel Sourcing | Supply Chain Transformation Specialist | C & A | Charles Voegele | Tex Line
Kirtisinh Chavda

General Manager at KALPATARU PROJECTS INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

1 Choose wisely

Not all vendors are created equal. Some may offer lower prices, but have poor customer service, delivery times, or quality standards. Others may have great reputations, but charge too much, or have rigid contracts. You need to do your homework and compare different vendors based on your needs, budget, and goals. Look for vendors who have experience working with startups, who understand your industry and niche, and who are willing to negotiate and adapt to your changing requirements. You can use supplier discovery tools, such as Thomasnet, Alibaba, or Upwork, to find and evaluate potential vendors.

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Karthikeyan Varadarajan (VK)

Founder | Global Apparel Sourcing | Supply Chain Transformation Specialist | C & A | Charles Voegele | Tex Line
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Define a powerful checklist with a focus on willingness to support and building relationships, along with the other important criteria: 1) Prior Experience with startups 2) Customer Service 3) Delivery Times 4) Quality Standards 5) Cost and Value 6) References and Reviews 7) Scalability and Flexibility 8) Contractual Agreements By prioritizing willingness to support and relationship building in the vendor selection process, you can ensure a collaborative partnership that is conducive to mutual growth and success.

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Ravinder kumar Sharma

Having 28 Years of Experience in Procurement, supply-chain, operation (MBA in Material & Purchase Management! worked with Harvest Gold Industries Pvt Ltd ( Modern Foods/ Kitty Industries / Grupo Bimbo India )
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Too many cooks spoil the dish, it's better to select the best one vendor make a good transparent relation of business and close.

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Surojit Kumar Roy

Seasoned Mechanical Engineer with strength in engineering consultancy. Prepares tendering packages, and evaluates and negotiates tenders through open communication with all parties involved.
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Choosing vendors is not a easy task but it becomes smoother if we have proper checklist and defined objectives. Apart from all these, we should also have some physical visits and both technical and admin reports from these visits which will really help us in selection and negotiations of the appropriate vendors.

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2 Communicate clearly

Once you have selected your vendors, you need to establish clear and consistent communication with them. You need to set expectations, define roles and responsibilities, and share feedback and updates. You also need to listen to your vendors, understand their challenges and concerns, and address any issues or conflicts as soon as they arise. Communication is key to building trust, loyalty, and collaboration with your vendors. You can use tools, such as Slack, Trello, or Asana, to communicate and manage projects with your vendors.

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Surojit Kumar Roy

Seasoned Mechanical Engineer with strength in engineering consultancy. Prepares tendering packages, and evaluates and negotiates tenders through open communication with all parties involved.
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Communication is one of the key parameters, proper and good defined communication leads to a great achievements. We should always maintain politeness.

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3 Monitor performance

You also need to monitor and measure how your vendors are performing and delivering on their promises. You need to track key metrics, such as quality, cost, time, and satisfaction, and compare them with your benchmarks and goals. You also need to review your contracts and invoices regularly, and make sure you are paying your vendors on time and according to the agreed terms. Monitoring performance will help you identify any gaps, risks, or opportunities for improvement with your vendors. You can use tools, such as Scorecard, VendorRisk, or ProcurementExpress, to monitor and manage vendor performance.

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Kirtisinh Chavda

General Manager at KALPATARU PROJECTS INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
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Vendor performance is an important aspects for any efficient supply chain and in fact regular monitoring vendor performance with predefined systems will definitely help to measure their performance and improvement area. In long run this will give significant results with cost optimization and will develop better relationships between vendor and customers.

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Surojit Kumar Roy

Seasoned Mechanical Engineer with strength in engineering consultancy. Prepares tendering packages, and evaluates and negotiates tenders through open communication with all parties involved.
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We should define the proper key performance indicators to assure the performance and gaps. Also vendor risk management and proper mitigation plan shall be on place to tackle any unwanted situations.

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4 Reward excellence

Another way to manage your vendors effectively is to reward them for their excellence and value. You can show your appreciation and recognition by giving them positive feedback, referrals, testimonials, or bonuses. You can also offer them incentives, such as discounts, extensions, or exclusivity, for meeting or exceeding your expectations. Rewarding excellence will help you motivate your vendors, strengthen your relationship, and encourage them to go the extra mile for you. You can use tools, such as Incentive Solutions, Tango Card, or Giftbit, to reward and incentivize your vendors.

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5 Review regularly

Finally, you need to review your vendor relations regularly and make sure they are aligned with your current and future needs. You need to evaluate the performance, value, and fit of your vendors, and decide whether to continue, renew, or terminate your contracts. You also need to solicit feedback from your vendors, and ask them how they feel about working with you, and what they suggest for improvement. Reviewing regularly will help you optimize your vendor relations, and ensure you are getting the best out of your partnerships. You can use tools, such as SurveyMonkey, Typeform, or Qualtrics, to collect and analyze feedback from your vendors.

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