Supply Side Projects

  Communications Management   ProjectsAtWork  

At some point in their lives, many projects need the expertise of external third parties to ensure that certain activities are carried out. Much research and advice is available in the practice of supplier and vendor management, ranging from procurement techniques to establishing Key Performance Indicators and Metrics management. In this article, we point out a few key elements that the three of us usually find important when working on a project with suppliers and vendors. As a project leader, it is important that you embody the philosophy you want your team to adopt with suppliers and vendors — it sets the tone for success.

For the purposes of this article, we are covering third parties (suppliers, vendors, contractors, subcontractors, consultants) who provide a product and or contracted to perform agreed works on a project.

Various levels of sophistication for project supplier and vendor management exist. The type of practice you will expect to use will depend to a large extent on the size and complexity of your project and your organization. Within large organizations, it may be necessary to go through a supplier/procurement management team and adhere to strict processes to contract for the services or goods required for a project. In smaller organizations, the process may be handled by one person or a small team. Different procurement processes may need to be …

Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.