As emphasized in our previous blog posts, our success as a company is closely tied to the vendors we work with and the relationships we cultivate with them. Vendors play a crucial role in driving growth, helping us achieve profit goals, and contributing to revenue gains. They are integral to numerous activities and processes within our organizations.
Why is Vendor Management important?
When immersed in the daily operations of running a business, it can be challenging to keep track of time spent and time wasted. Reliable estimates reveal that Business Executives spend an average of 15 minutes per day on hold.
You might think, “Fifteen minutes? No big deal!”
While it may not seem like a significant amount of time is lost in a single day, let’s consider the cumulative impact. This adds up to:
- 75 minutes per week
- 300 minutes per month
- 3,600 minutes per year
That’s approximately seven and a half days lost each year – valuable time that could be utilized for project completion, new product launches, or business growth. This highlights the importance of efficient vendor management.
Effective Management of Vendors
In our previous blog posts, we have stressed the significance of effectively managing vendor-business relationships. Procurement is no longer solely about purchasing services or goods. In today’s business environment, vendor partnerships should be a key component of your business growth strategy. Working with vendors strategically and managing relationships can lead to substantial rewards.
Who handles Vendor Management?
Vendor management is not widely implemented by small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and its true value is not fully understood. To ensure we are all on the same page, let’s clarify what we mean by vendor management.
Vendors are the businesses and individuals that provide services and goods to your company. It is common to work with multiple vendors, each with varying rates, contacts, and contract terms. This complexity can make management challenging, resulting in potential overpayment for services and goods and hidden costs.
Vendor management can alleviate these challenges. In simple terms, it involves researching vendors, obtaining quotes, negotiating contracts, managing vendor relationships, evaluating vendor performance, and ensuring timely payments. By streamlining these processes, you can save both time and money.
The Importance of Vendor Management
Effective vendor management helps reduce risks associated with unforeseen costs and regulatory compliance. It enables you to track supplies and have the necessary data to identify and mitigate risks.
Another key aspect of vendor management is measuring and tracking vendor performance. This ensures that vendors meet your business needs and requirements.
Moreover, vendor management aids in cost reduction. Increased visibility enables you to identify hidden costs and exercise control, potentially leading to better negotiation outcomes, incentives, and discounts. Consider reading our previous blog on avoiding additional costs for further insights.
Building loyal relationships is another compelling reason to prioritize vendor management. Finding a good vendor is no easy task, and when you do, it’s crucial to invest effort in building trust and loyalty.
Protecting your brand
Ultimately, your business needs safeguarding. Vendor management plays a vital role in this regard. Your brand represents your reputation, which holds substantial value. An unethical or unprofessional vendor can tarnish this reputation. Implementing vendor management practices reduces the risk of serious incidents stemming from poor vendor actions.
We’re here to help!
We understand that absorbing all this information can be overwhelming. If you still have questions about managing your vendors, please reach out to us. The more we can assist you, the more time you will have to focus on critical matters. This, in turn, will provide peace of mind, foster better vendor relationships, and reclaim approximately a week and a half of your time.
