Vendor Management

Course Overview

Each year more and more organizations are turning to outside vendors for help with critical initiatives. When this happens, the vendor should not be allowed to work independently until the expected delivery date as that has proven to be a recipe for disappointment and failure.
Vendors should be considered an extension of the project team and must be managed as such in order to improve the probability of success. The project manager needs to be prepared to effectively manage all aspects of vendor relationships, from selecting the right vendor, to get the expected results.
 

Tired of worrying about your vendors’ performance?

Concerned about contractual disagreements and products/services that don’t measure up to standards?

This workshop will show you how to control your vendors, thereby ensuring that you get what you pay for. You will learn techniques to establish and maintain a meaningful working relationship with your key vendors and you will discover how to create and utilize leverage that ensures vendor performance. This training emphasizes the key phases of vendor management. It also covers key considerations and traps to avoid during each phase of the process.

Learning Outcome

• Develop a vendor management plan
• Develop a clear and thorough Request for Proposal (RFP)
• Define vendor selection criteria
• Identify performance measurements
• Develop escalation procedures for ongoing management
• Understand different techniques to enhance vendor relationship

Target Audience

• Project managers and team members where vendors are responsible for deliverables
• Stakeholders and Managers that approve the vendor selection
• All stakeholders that provide requirements for outsourced components of a project

Course Outline

• Pre-Planning Phase

  • Discuss the importance of vendor management

  • Discuss the RFP process

  • Defining roles and responsibilities
     

• Requirements Phase

  • Define project scope

  • Understand the difference between an RFP and Statement of Work (SOW)

  • Develop an RFP and its timeline

  • Determine how to staff the selection committee
     

• Selection and Award Phase

  • Assess the vendor space

  • Determine the list of vendors to receive RFP

  • Define selection criteria

  • Develop a vendor management plan
     

• Implementation Phase

  • Define how the vendor will fold into the existing project process

  • Measure and report on vendor performance

  • Track and resolve vendor issues

  • Close our project with a vendor