Промышленный лизинг Промышленный лизинг  Методички 

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practices, and asset management are linked in most firms, and are covered here as well.

Why This Topic Is Important

Almost without exception, services firms must rely on a variety of vendors to accomplish their objectives. Outside vendors provide many of the functions outlined in this book, including legal, banking, information technology, telecommunications, marketing, public relations, and real estate services, as well as more mundane items such as office supplies, catering, and facilities. Because professional services providers such as lawyers, consultants, real estate agents, or doctors get little training in managing outside partners, including experience measuring service levels, selecting service providers, and negotiating pricing and terms, many professional services firms fall short in vendor management. This can be highly damaging to the firm, not only because of the reliance on vendors for such a wide variety of functions, but also because of the high expenditures on outside vendors. In aggregate, outside providers generally comprise the largest expenditure of a professional services firm besides labor costs. Failure to manage these expenditures and relationships suitably can be devastating to the firm.

A cooperative and amicable relationship is necessary to extract the most value out of vendor relationships, while applying regular management practices to ensure that the vendor is performing up to expectation and committed service levels. This can be challenging because of the periodic incongruent incentives of the firm and the vendor sales and delivery teams, and the wide variety of vendors that must be managed. Often, firms cover shortfalls in vendor performance by adding staff or other expenditures rather than confronting nonperforming vendors and instituting standard vendor management processes and procedures. Firm managers and staff must work to be taken seriously by vendors and to hold nonperformers accountable.

Vendors, like most businesses, pay the most attention to the customers who provide their largest revenue stream or the customers who are most vocal. Thus, smaller companies must learn to aggressively communicate their needs, requirements, and timelines to vendors and, for extremely critical vendors, to work together with other small customers to influence vendor policies and priorities. In addition, larger companies with significant vendor spending should ensure that the vendor is reflecting their needs appropriately in product or service development priorities, rather than submitting to a vocal minority. While influencing vendor priorities is important for professional services firms, vendor managers should prioritize their vendor influence efforts based on their individual situations. Paying attention to finding the best labor lawyers available and ensuring their proper



performance is much more critical to a staffing services firm than, for example, ensuring that the office supplies are always delivered on time. Most professional services firms with sizable spending on vendors should assign an individual (or group of individuals) to take responsibility for managing the vendor relationships, a role that we refer to throughout this chapter as the vendor manager.

Topics discussed in this chapter include:

How to work effectively with vendors to ensure that the full value of investments in products and services of outside providers can be achieved

How to build a mutually beneficial partnership with a vendor The importance of establishing the vendor management function How to take control of vendor relationships

How to set thresholds for determining which vendors to focus on The distinction between types of vendor contracts Important steps in establishing new vendor relationships Methods for establishing and managing vendor performance and service levels

Gaining value and leverage by working with the vendors other customers

When and how to recompete vendor contracts

Approaches for managing vendors experiencing business difficulties

How and when to select vendors, including requests for proposal (RFPs) and contract negotiation

We have devoted specific chapters elsewhere in this book to the selection and management of particularly critical vendors for professional services firms, including providers of legal, information technology, real estate, and finance/accounting services.

Vendors as Partners

The most effective vendor relationships are the ones in which the vendor and customer build a close partnership. However, this relationship can be difficult to achieve. Vendors have a different set of incentives and priorities than the vendor manager, and finding ways to work to mutual benefit takes effort and willingness on both sides to accomplish. Most often, the proper tenor for the relationship is set during the selection or bidding process, which is covered at the end of this chapter. Exhibit 16.1 shows the typical vendor types engaged to provide products or services to professional services firms.



Legal Services

Banking and financial services Tax and audit services

Information technology hardware/software and services Real estate

Marketing and public relations Telecommunications Office supplies Printing

Staffing/recruiting

Cleaning services

Catering/food service

Exhibit 16.1 Categories of Vendors for Professional Services Firms

There are a number of ways for professional services firms and vendors to work in partnership to mutual benefit. Working with clients closely, the vendor can provide a wide range of benefits to the customer, including:

New services or product features customized for the customer Free product updates in advance of official product release Free off-the-record consultation or advice on minor matters Telegraphing major company announcements in advance of official notification, where appropriate Concessions on pricing for future product or service purchases

Discounts on maintenance, training, or other ancillary services After-hours or emergency support or availability

Information on undocumented product features or provision of special services reserved for best customers

Access to vendor internal resources for consultation Introductions to other clients with similar requirements or needs for brainstorming or consultation on specific problems



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