Vendor Management

IT management and all of the moving parts that come along with it can be a complicated process. Some MSPs offer businesses a way to circumvent the stress that comes along with managing an IT environment and allows them to focus on their own business responsibilities. One of the more underappreciated aspects of IT services is that of vendor management.

What is Vendor Management?

The fact is that every aspect of IT services is handled by outside vendors. Most of the larger, more involved IT issues will be taken care of by your MSP. But what about those outside services like internet providers or the companies that take care of things like your copying machine? Vendor management refers to the system in place that coordinates your entire network of vendors.

Naturally, you manage your in-house employees in a way that holds them accountable for the jobs they are required to do. It allows you to keep track of who is doing what and how efficiently everyone is accomplishing their part. The same idea should be in place for your vendors. But with your primary focus being on your business, you probably don’t have a lot of spare time to dedicate to this. Having a partner to handle this part of the workflow will go a long way in keeping your attention where it needs to be.

Because IT services and everything it encompasses is such a specialized field, it makes sense to have a dedicated, specialized team handling its management. Third party vendor management is something the best MSPs will provide for you and your business.

Why should Vendor Management be a pivotal business focus?

As the owner of your business, you may not have time to waste getting in contact with all of these outside vendors in order to take care of smaller issues within the office. Or maybe your in-house IT person is telling you one thing about a problem and the third party vendor is saying something different. With a MSP who handles third party vendor management, this frustration can be avoided. Particularly at Valeo Networks, we would serve as your one-stop shop for any and all IT issues, taking care of them until they are completely solved. Having these services available to you is proven to save you time and money, allowing your company to take on more and handle it with efficiency.

Vendor Management Tools

More and more business owners these days are looking to outsource the management of their vendors in order to avoid the hassle of doing it all themselves. This saves them both time and money. One of the most effective ways to do this is through a MSP with the tools necessary to effectively take on that responsibility.

There are scalable tools out there that a MSP will use to assist you in this process, including cloud-based solutions. The need for these tools to be scalable is important, as it allows the MSP to be able to integrate them into your company’s current workflow seamlessly. The most effective and reliable vendor management system (VMS) will allow for these integration abilities.

The tools used by your MSP will also need to be able to adapt to the specific needs of each vendor you use. Each vendor will have their unique responsibility to your company, which means they will also have unique requirements to get their jobs done effectively. Having versatility with your VMS has a direct impact on its reliability for you and your team of vendors.

Benefits of Vendor Management

Trusting a MSP to handle vendor management can help the day to day flow of your business. Here are a few benefits of utilizing MSP vendor management:

• MSP will serve as the liaison, allowing you to focus on your business
• Documentation is always ongoing with third party vendor interactions
• Your MSP knows the IT industry and are best equipped to handle any impediments involved within this realm
• Improved quality of your IT infrastructure
• Increased cohesion across all IT departments
• Technology aligned with future goals

Using a vendor management service, you can accomplish all of these things while minimizing cost and streamlining communication.

Examples of vendor relationships your MSP can handle for you include:

• Internet Services Provider (ISP)
• Telecommunications company
• Copier company

Take Stress Out of the Picture with Valeo Networks

Running a business requires the management of a lot of moving parts. You have to keep your focus on the day to day dealing of your company in order to ensure continued success. The last thing you need to worry about is the alignment of your vendors with your business goals, cybersecurity needs, and the overall strategy of your technology infrastructure. With Valeo Networks, you won’t have to worry about this.

We offer everything you need to optimize the running of your business. By working and collaborating closely with all of your vendors, our team will make sure you always have access to the resources you need to succeed.

Contact us today to get a look at what Valeo Networks can do for your vendor management needs.