Your vendor management solutions are outdated. What can you do to keep up with the competition?

(1) Invest in Technology (2) Invest in AI that optimises and uplifts the technology solutions (3) Use new age partners that deal in vendor management with regards to sourcing, quotes, invoicing, procurement, payments, accounting (4) Upskill people to relook at processes by embracing technology.

Prioritize those that are directly communicating and supporting your customers - they have a voice and they know what your customers need and want. LISTEN. Utilize technology that focuses on improving THEIR experience because it always translates to your customers experience. Are your vendors just vendors or are they partners that walk side-by-side with you to find solutions that are laser focused on the full experience, regardless of the $ your partners get out of it. When that happens - things like NPS jump, your costs and customer churn reduce.

Keeping the Tech relevant and updated is important but at the same time, keeping the people and process well trained and effectively using/consuming the tech solutions is equally important. Sustained quality can be achieved only when people, process, data and technology are all in synch.

If your vendor management solutions are outdated and you want to keep up with the competition, here are some steps you can take: 1. Conduct a Comprehensive Assessment 2. Understand Market Trends 3. Engage Stakeholders 4. Research Competitor Solutions 5. Invest in Technology and Automation 6. Update User Interfaces and Experience 7. Enhance Security Measures 8. Collaborate with Vendors 9. Implement Scalable Solutions 10. Provide Training and Support 11. Communicate Changes Effectively 12. Iterate and Stay Agile By taking a strategic and user-focused approach, you can modernize your vendor management solutions, stay competitive, and meet the evolving needs of your organization and users.

This would apply more to auctions and e-auctions, where the product being sourced is more like a one time buy or a physical good. This might not apply fully for services such as connectivity services. Because services are recurring in nature and a clean inventory management is key all the way from quote till bill or invoice management.

Integrating vendor data with other platforms gives you instant access to crucial information. Make informed decisions, faster.

First thing is on being clear on how you can establish a win-win relationship & make it commercially viable. Unless, both are bought into value creation, it will not last long. Secondly, clear evaluation process to measure the outcomes, accountability & rate the contributions transparently so that the vendors feel encouraged to engage, share ideas and convert them. Third, treat vendor as you want to be treated yourself. This will bring in collaborative environment which is key for success of any team !!!

Agility in decision making with concrete, quick information and indicators for management, maintaining a single base of indicators for various areas of the company.

Based on my experience, vendors unwilling to transparently share details about their processes often indicate a lack of commitment to a long-term partnership. Swiftly identifying and exploring alternative options is advisable for a smoother and more productive collaboration. Integrating your vendor management data through dedicated applications offers several advantages. These tools can seamlessly connect your vendor information with various systems like ERP, CRM, accounting, and analytics, enhancing visibility, accuracy, and consistency. Moreover, vendor management applications enable easy access and sharing of vendor data among different stakeholders, including procurement, finance, legal, and operations.

Integrating your VMS with other applications plays a key role in getting you the insights that are needed for effectively running your programs. Integration helps you in keeping the data synced across applications which helps with data sanctity and quality.

Using a Vendor Management collaboration app can undoubtedly enhance communication between customers and suppliers. The proper implementation of such an app adds value by automating business processes and reducing data discrepancies. However, selecting the right app is crucial for success.

Implementing collaborative vendor management unlocks significant potential for organizations seeking to optimize their supply chain. Today's technological landscape offers a multitude of integration possibilities, and enhanced vendor collaboration adds another powerful layer to achieving your strategic goals.

By enhancing your vendor management collaboration, you will quickly begin to determine which suppliers can become truly strategic. This will also offer up programs that can create more opportunities for the business overall.

Collaboration with your vendors help you innovate with new solutions in raw material development. Effective cost control solutions by precision supply chain management

I would like to suggest to have one integrated tool for Vendor Management using AI which would automatically raise ticket with Vendors and follow up till the resolution.Also it should give you the Vendor SLA report at regular intervals.

- Develop robust risk management strategies to mitigate potential disruptions caused by changes in the market, geopolitical events, or vendor-related issues. - Stay informed about regulatory changes and compliance requirements in your industry. Ensure that your vendor management practices align with legal and ethical standards.

Structure and process is key I think. Having a structure to collect and assess a vendor and then executing the process to assure things are asked and addressed. Having a good structure and process is obviously very important.

This is one of the key and vital part of vendor management , especially the costing , pricing, discounts , competing $$ value to win the deals. Vendor management applications will be a great platform for fool proof user experience.

One thing I would like to share on this topic (Vendor Mgmt Security): Fortress for data: Encrypt and store sensitive vendor information in secure, cloud-based servers. Access under lock and key: Granular control over who can view, edit, or delete vendor data, minimizing risk. Compliance shield: Stay ahead of industry regulations and standards with automated audits and reporting. Reputation defender: Safeguard your company's reputation from data breaches and security vulnerabilities. Fraud fighter: Proactive monitoring and detection tools thwart unauthorized access and suspicious activity. Legal peace of mind: Ensure documented vendor activity trails for accountability and dispute resolution.

Vendor management applications should be updated regularly in line with the periodic risk assessment processes of the organization. We need to ensure that the application is adaptable to changes in the threat landscape, allowing for the incorporation of new security measures as needed.

While the different points here are valid under the category of "vendor management", the core is beyond the technology and/or the platforms. It's the relationship, the dialogue, the exchange that of course any tech should work to serve.

The first four topics look like a pitch for software as a solution to what needs to begin with a strategic evaluation of the role and the function in the organization. Tooling can be a catalyst for that conversation, but organizations that do not use that to challenge outdated perspectives on vendor management will find that their investment in tooling does not pay off. As a centralized function the most important consideration is for vendor management leaders to accept that their primary function is not to manage individual vendor relationships, but to provide portfolio leadership across siloed vendor relationships and enable relationship owners to enter into better working agreements with their partners.

Evaluate your vendor relationships and determine which ones are strategic and could be a better value to your client or company's goals.

Here’s some things I’ve learned over time; 1) the relationship and partnership you created with your vendor teams is paramount. Clearly communicating your values and expectations so they know and understand what’s important, helps to set your partners up for success. So does knowing what’s important to your partners success. 2) while relationships are important, so is well managed and leveraged data. You have to be able to see under the hood of the car you’re driving, otherwise it will be tough to fix things that break, and things will break. So, invest in technology that integrates all of your business platforms, gives you and your partners the ability to see in real time, the businesses performance, and enables you both to communicate.

I think its very important, when you have identified a good vendor,to train them as per your organization's ways of working. I have seen a lot of great vendors get lost,find initial teething trouble in a new organization .