So you just found out you have to manage vendors, create a program perhaps, and make sure the relationship with the vendor improves asap? Congratulations!! It’s really a memorable time, full of hope, possibilities, and probably fear.
I remember the first time I ended up having to manage service providers and improve the program (I’ve had bits and pieces of introductions early in my career but not quite as drastic as this…) I was doing data analytics and operations and my manager at the time had some personal conflicts and had to leave the company. Lo and behold, one thing led to another and we had a complete reorg on our team. My role ended up falling under Procurement (you may ask how data analytics falls under Procurement, and to this day I still can’t quite say how this happened!) The team had a couple of hundred vendors that desperately needed to be managed. “Regina, how would you feel about managing our providers? We were thinking you can be involved in RFPs, performance scorecards, and business reviews.” And then it started.
I’ll be perfectly honest, that pivot that I made was the greatest thing. I started doing what I loved. The thing about managing service providers is it’s pretty easy to see results for your work, the best is when you’re dealing with a troublesome vendor (where relationship is rocky, performance is low, etc…) and after working with them for a few months all aspects improve, and you become a true partnership!
Everyone starts somewhere. No matter what field you’re in, the concept for managing vendors can be expanded through most industries. You’ve got this! Now let’s dive into the details in the next few posts 🙂
Musings of a Vendor Manager 