If your business works with many different vendors, then you know that your vendor management strategy can very much take on a life of its own and spiral out of control. The more time you spend working with vendors, the more time you’re not spending on the actual tasks associated with your job responsibilities. This means that you’re leaving a lot of wasted productivity and time on the table. We’re here to help you get the most out of managing your vendor relationships, as well as one secret that can help you get the most out of them.
How Many Vendors Do You Work With?
It’s not unheard of for small businesses to have working relationships with dozens of vendors, and it can be challenging to maintain relationships with them all. Consider all of the goods and services your organization depends on to keep itself running smoothly, then consider all the time you spend in communication with each of these vendors to make sure you have consistent and reliable access to them all. It’s a lot to handle, even under the best circumstances.
How Does Vendor Management Work?
Vendor management includes having a strategy focused on managing your vendors, as well as a strategy for how your clients use you as a vendor. Even a small business has plenty of relationships to manage, and that’s before you start to see success and growth. There are several factors that play into a successful vendor management strategy, which we will outline below.
Keeping Track of Your Vendors
We recommend that you treat your vendors like you treat your inventory, at least in regard to managing them all. Take inventory of all your vendors and the relationships you have with them. Be sure to include all businesses that work with you and what they use your business for, as well.
Bevlin’s schtick is IT, so we help businesses manage their technology. If we were to help you manage your vendors, we would make a list of your technology vendors and what they do for your business. This might include the people you purchase computers from, the software you use, your security needs, and people who provide service for your printers, and just about any other hardware you might require. If we put together this list for you, we are sure you would find it quite eye-opening.
Once you have this list created, you should then consider how much time you spend on each of the companies on that list. You’ll be shocked to find out just how much time you might spend working with vendors, time which is often extended if they are trying to sell you additional services or if you are experiencing issues with the goods or services they provide. If you’re not careful, vendor management can monopolize your time in the worst way possible.
Our Vendor Management Solution for SMBs
We’d like to ask you to use your imagination for a moment to imagine a world where you don't have to deal with your vendors and the complex web of relationships you have with them. You could get all of your IT needs taken care of with a single point of contact at one local business—one that values your time as much as your patronage. Our trusted and knowledgeable team can help your business achieve this reality with our vendor management services. You can get more work done by focusing on running your business rather than working with vendors that are always trying to get more out of you.
To learn more about vendor management, be sure to contact us at 781-679-0172.
