Four Keys to Successful Project Vendor Management
Four Keys to Successful Project Vendor Management
By Bruce Harpham
Purchasing goods and services is a key activity in many projects. In large projects where vendors provide complex services and high value goods, successful relationships with vendors make or break the project’s success. If twenty five percent of your project budget or tasks are performed by a vendor, then you need to adopt a relationship management approach.
What Is Your Vendor Management Experience?
Approaches to vendor relationship management vary depending on the organization. Some large organizations have long term contracts with firms such as IBM and Microsoft. In that context, one often sees full time contract relationship managers on staff. If your organization has relationship managers, seek out their advice on managing vendors as you start work on your project. They may have templates, checklists and other organizational process assets you can use to manage the relationship.
What if your organization has no meaningful experience with vendor management or complex contracts? Read the Complete Article
