What are Vendors?  

In this blog series, the focus so far has been on how either Private Sector or Public Sector customers manage vendors. But aren’t there always two sides to the story? In this blog, our focus will be who the vendor is and what the vendor provides customers.

We all have vendors –In many cases, such as here at Momentum, we may be a vendor on the one hand and have vendors of our own. There are many reasons to use vendors.

• Save money – vendors who focus on just a few core services or products are likely to be more efficient at those things. Efficiency means clients and customers save money in the long run. Many vendors offer discounts for new or frequent customers.
• Temporary needs – a lot of times, we need something on just a temporary basis. Your choice is to build the expertise and purchase long-term tools OR hire a vendor with the expertise and tools to tackle short-term work and then leave you in good shape.
• Can’t produce ourselves – We are all interconnected, and organizations even more so. Sooner or later, you will need something that you can’t produce yourself. We all do, and vendors can meet those needs for us.

Looking Through The Vendors Lense

The beginning, middle, and end of vendor management look much different for the vendor as it does the private or public sectors. In the beginning when the sectors are scouting for their best choices, the vendor markets to make their presence known. Depending on the type of vendor, their marketing strategies will differ as well. There are five types of marketing strategies, often referred to as the five P’s:

• Product – Emphasizes what is being sold. Your product includes the function, branding, appearance, warranty, quality, and even the packaging of your product or service
• Price – This includes sales price, profit margins, and funds for marketing. It can affect how goods are viewed by consumers, and can impact your brand reputation as affordable or high-end
• Place – Is the time your products reach customers and the channels you use. You always want your products to get to the right people in the right place at the right time.
• Promotion – This is how you get your products and services in front of prospects.
• People – This impacts from internal employees to customers to partners.

Vendor Types

Vendors selling tangible goods are selling goods that are perceptible by touch. Vendors can also provide intangible services. Let’s use Momentum as an example. You as a company are looking to elevate your business for the next upcoming project. Your staff is swamped and none of your employees can put 100% of their efforts into this new project. Insert Momentum as your vendor. We would be able to provide you with project management services – which would involve planning, organizing, and managing project activities. Just like tangible vendors, the same vendor management applies. Once you have confirmed the possibility of working with Momentum, you would want to meet our consultants to confirm our credentials match your scope of work as well as hear success stories of when we have worked with private and public sectors.

There’s always a reason to use a vendor. How do you make sure that your needs – the reason you used a vendor – are being met? How do you get the best value from the work they do or the products they provide? That’s where vendor management comes in. As we covered in the other blogs in this series, there are 3 important aspects to Vendor Management that both the client and vendor can focus on strengthening for better results. The client should do the following and the vendor can help ensure that these building blocks are in place:

• Administration: Build the right administrative processes so everyone honors their commitments and unnecessary delays or waste are avoided. You want to minimize issues and problems with logistics, payment, access to physical or virtual locations, and so on. Having an administration process set up before the vendor is on board minimizes problems while they are working with you. The last thing you want is to pay for their time to troubleshoot delays and problems on your end. Things as simple as getting badge access or access to the appropriate file share location on day one build efficiency and show the vendor you are serious about your work with them.
• Relationship: Foster a partnership, build on transparency, trust, and communication. ​ Your work with your vendor should be a partnership. And, of course, the only way to build a partnership is to build a relationship with your vendors. Routine touchpoints and constant communication set the tone of transparency and trust that will foster a mutually beneficial relationship. ​
• Technical: Communicate and monitor progress to ensure value. The vendor’s technical work is what provides direct value to the customer. Providing clear expectations, communicating processes, and constantly monitoring progress will go a long way toward ensuring the partnership is a success and leads to the value that the client expects. Want to learn more about wowing customers, enjoy this blog by Momentum’s Co-Director of Service Delivery, Amy Townson.

Let Momentum be your go to vendor! We have an array of partners and affiliates amongst the hundreds of clients we already have contracts with! If you need any assistance with Management Consulting, Project Management, Process Improvement, and Implementation Support – Contact us today!