As a leader in your organization it is critical that you know that your vendors can hurt you more than your customers. It’s a fact that although you can somewhat control how your clients impact your operations it’s not possible to control your vendors if they are successful with their other customers. If you end up with a good vendor it’s imperative that you demonstrate trust in them and show appreciation when they go the extra mile.
If you have the right vendors as your partners there are several things that must be part of your relationship.
- Pay your invoices on time and don’t allow your Accounts Payable people to negatively affect your relationship by needlessly questioning valid invoices. Of course, if there are real concerns it is totally OK to question them and if your vendor is a good one they will welcome the chance to explain their invoice.
- Do not allow people in your organization to “randomly” blame the vendor because they haven’t taken the time to do their job. Time after time we’ve experienced certain employees that claim the software vendor has not been responsive when in fact it’s them projecting their lack of responsiveness that has slowed the project.
- The software is only as good as the requirements. Confirm up front that all stakeholders have had their input and that the vendor has a strong requirements document. Read it, verify it and agree to it. It's equally important to have a solid change management plan to control scope creep as more of your team becomes vested in the project. Discuss with your vendor how they will manage change (What does that look like?).
- You are a specialist at what you do in your organization, your software vendor is a specialist in what they do. It’s important that you trust them and let them guide you in how to let your business processes be dictated by their experience. If you have the right vendor they want you to be as successful as possible.
- When your otherwise solid software/hosting vendor may have an unusual and unexpected blip in their service it is imperative you approach it with the utmost in understanding that software is still a fairly young industry and many unknowns still exist. Just as an occasional new car may break down there are challenges when hosting and maintaining software systems. If your vendor is meeting and/or exceeding the level of service agreed to in the contract then you have a very good vendor.
Bottom line - if you're happy, do what you can to keep them happy. In fact, it’s a good policy to treat everyone with respect and understanding in personal and business life... even if they're a vendor :-)
