How do you review and update vendor SLA periodically?

1 Assess your needs

The first step is to assess your current and future needs for the products or services you procure from your vendors. You should consider factors such as your budget, demand, quality standards, security requirements, compliance regulations, and customer satisfaction. You should also evaluate the performance and value of your existing vendors, based on the data and feedback you collect from various sources, such as reports, surveys, audits, and reviews. This will help you identify the areas where you need to improve, change, or renegotiate your vendor SLAs.

2 Compare with the market

The second step is to compare your vendor SLAs with the market trends and best practices. You should research and benchmark the prices, quality, availability, and performance of similar products or services offered by other vendors in your industry or region. You should also monitor the changes and innovations in the market that may affect your vendor SLAs, such as new technologies, regulations, competitors, or customer expectations. This will help you determine if your vendor SLAs are competitive, fair, and relevant, or if you need to adjust them to match the market standards or opportunities.

3 Communicate with your vendors

The third step is to communicate with your vendors about your findings and expectations. You should initiate a dialogue with your vendors to discuss the current state and future direction of your vendor SLAs. You should share your feedback, concerns, suggestions, and goals with your vendors, and listen to their feedback, concerns, suggestions, and goals as well. You should also clarify the roles, responsibilities, and expectations of both parties, and address any issues or disputes that may arise. This will help you build trust, transparency, and collaboration with your vendors, and foster a mutually beneficial relationship.

5 Monitor and measure

The fifth step is to monitor and measure the outcomes and performance of your vendor SLAs. You should establish and implement a system to track and evaluate the quality, availability, performance, and delivery of the products or services you purchase from your vendors, as well as the satisfaction and feedback of your customers and stakeholders. You should also use metrics, indicators, and reports to measure and compare the actual results with the expected results, and identify any gaps or deviations. This will help you verify if your vendors are meeting or exceeding your expectations, and if your vendor SLAs are effective and efficient.

6 Review and update

The final step is to review and update your vendor SLAs periodically. You should conduct regular reviews and audits of your vendor SLAs, at least once a year, or more frequently if needed. You should also update your vendor SLAs whenever there are significant changes in your business needs, market conditions, vendor performance, or customer expectations. You should also solicit and incorporate feedback from your vendors, customers, and stakeholders on how to improve your vendor SLAs. This will help you ensure that your vendor SLAs are current, relevant, and aligned with your business goals.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?