Establish a Sustainable Vendor Management Office
Lay the foundation for a vendor management process that is built to last.
- 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.
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.
Client
Experience
Impact
$ Saved
Days Saved
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 t... Read More
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 rec... Read More
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 ... Read More
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
Envision your ideal future state.
- VMO Strategic Roadmap
Calculate your current vendor management maturity.
Conduct a gap analysis.
Write a migration plan.
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
Assess and map your organization to a deployment model.
- Vendor Management Competency Framework
Assess your staff’s core competencies.
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
Define mission and charter.
- Vendor Management Mission and Charter
Establish value metrics.
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.
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
Looking at Risk in a New Light: The Six Pillars of Vendor Risk Management
Manage Exponential Value Relationships
Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative
Capture and Market the ROI of Your VMO
Cut Cost Through Effective IT Category Planning
Design and Build an Effective Contract Lifecycle Management Process
Maximize Value From Your Value-Added Reseller (VAR)
Drive Successful Sourcing Outcomes With a Robust RFP Process
Reduce Risk With Rock-Solid Service-Level Agreements
Slash Spending by Optimizing Your Software Maintenance and Support
Identify and Manage Financial Risk Impacts on Your Organization
Identify and Manage Strategic Risk Impacts on Your Organization
Identify and Manage Reputational Risk Impacts on Your Organization
Identify and Manage Security Risk Impacts on Your Organization
Evaluate Your Vendor Account Team to Optimize Vendor Relations
Elevate Your Vendor Management Initiative
Prepare for Negotiations More Effectively
Implement Your Negotiation Strategy More Effectively
Evaluate and Learn From Your Negotiation Sessions More Effectively
Proactively Identify and Mitigate Vendor Risk
Master the Public Cloud IaaS Acquisition Models
Essentials of Vendor Management for Small Business
Identify and Manage Regulatory and Compliance Risk Impacts on Your Organization
Identify and Manage Operational Risk Impacts on Your Organization
Don’t Allow Software Licensing to Derail Your M&A
Identify and Reduce Agile Contract Risk
Improve Your Statements of Work to Hold Your Vendors Accountable
Understand Common IT Contract Provisions to Negotiate More Effectively
Master Contract Review and Negotiation for Software Agreements
Master the MSA for Your Managed Services Providers
Negotiate SaaS Agreements That Are Built to Last