By establishing Performance Indicators this can set the stage for how to proceed with vendors. Giving thought to this step will force you to consider what you are looking for in a vendor that you are looking to build a partner relationship with. Classifying multiple suppliers will force the questions that will determine if the vendors has your company’s best interest always. Then the rest seem to follow suit, devise an evaluation method, this will keep the company abreast of how the vendors are working out and if they meet our qualifications for our customers and our company. Then we will be able to see who’s calling the shots, I always believe we should Maintain good relationships and at this point we should have our answers as to whether the vendors are going to be an asset to our company and our customers. I believe it to be consistent to decide when to issue a red flag although I might want to tackle that question while we are establishing performance indicators. Being prepared to act when it is necessary is another important step that we should probably discuss earlier. Finally, we have reached a point where we will cut loose the weak links or find a way to strengthen them. Depending on how much of a weak link it is and if it benefits the company or not.
In terms of the Vendor Management tips, building relationships I have changed the order as follows:
- Negotiate with the Top Two.
- Tie guarantees to money
- Focus on value not price
- Demand proof of concept
- Define what the best deal means
- Don’t pay for features you won’t use
- Don’t be afraid to share your priorities
- Create a competitive environment
- Always get competitive bids
- Use vendors to help build business case
- Find a way to build relationships
- Be respectful to your vendors
- Treat your potential partners as partners as such not as vendors
- Ask for ongoing responsibility
- Look to long term
- See the other side
- Offer to help
- Make it a win-win
It’s important to establish what we expect and are looking for in a quality company as well as a quality product. There is nothing worse than getting into a long-term relationship with vendors or anyone else who does not have our best interest at heart.
In both articles, I consider the question of ethics and ethical behavior a relevant question to ask and the companies track record, to back it up, since they have been in business.
The Gantt scale is a good method for scoring, is a scale that can help us determine behavior and look at a company’s progress and actions provided the scale is set up to show the distinctions.
For this type of information, it needs to show in a diagram the results as well as track it. There needs to be a visual.
Methods used to evaluate the listed criteria:
Means of communication
Scheduling
Scope
Budget
Team satisfaction
Customer satisfaction/ Customer surveys
Quality of work
Distribution channels/ delivery
Reference
Brown, C. (2010, December 30). 7 Tips for Rating and Evaluating Your Suppliers and Vendors. Retrieved from Inc.com: http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/12/7-tips-to-rate-a…
Computerworld Staff. (2005, Feb 22). Vendor Management Tips: Building Relationships. Retrieved from Computerworld.com: http://www.computerworld.com/article/2569487/it-ma…
What is your opinion
