4 Questions To Ask Vendors’ References<\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div>What Can You Learn From Vendor References?<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/div>When you select a vendor, a best practice is to check their references. Let’s be honest, a vendor will never give you a poor reference – they will only use customers that they know will be positive references. However, there are a few questions that you can ask which will help give you a balanced, objective assessment of the vendor and let you get the most from the reference call.<\/p>\n
#1: “What’s your relationship with the vendor?”<\/b>\u00a0You want to know if the vendor is a mission critical vendor and how this matches to your requirements. If a vendor is critical to your business but not to the reference’s, the information you get is not necessarily relevant for you. Your service levels and other requirements may be worlds apart from theirs. You need to know that the input you get matters to your business.<\/p>\n
#2: “How do you interact with the vendor?”<\/b>\u00a0Frequently, vendors will ask Purchasing to be a reference. The problem is that Purchasing does the contracts and issues POs, but often isn’t involved day-to-day with the vendor and doesn’t have visibility to quality and service delivery. You should ask to talk with someone in vendor management or, better yet, talk with the business owner of the relationship with the vendor.<\/p>\n
#3: “Describe a situation where the vendor disappointed you, and how they responded.”\u00a0<\/b>Every vendor disappoints clients at times. The real key is how they react to and recover from the issues. A vendor’s response to problems is more important than how they act when things are rosy.<\/p>\n
#4 “What are some things you wish the vendor would do differently?”<\/b>\u00a0If the answer is to improve quality, service, or product delivery, it should be a real warning flag to you. You should then dig deeper to understand the specifics concerns they are having and decide if it is relevant to your business.<\/p>\n
The bottom line is that no vendor will have you talk to a poor reference but you can probe and get objective insights if you ask the right questions. It’s up to you to get the most out of the reference check. And a final tip: Ask the vendor to let you talk to a former client, and ask why they stopped doing business with the vendor.<\/p>\n
With Supplier risk management becoming a top strategic priority for CPOs, Vice Presidents, and Directors of procurement, visit NLPA Learning and check out \u00a0Vendor Risk Management<\/a>\u00a0to learn about the various sources of vendor and supplier risk.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Do You Want a More Rewarding Procurement Career?<\/h5><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/www.certitrek.com\/nlpa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/12\/spsm_verify.jpg\" "\\"spsm_verify\\"")
<\/span><\/div>Are you tired of not getting enough opportunities, respect, and money out of your procurement career? Well, guess what? Nothing will change unless you take action towards becoming a world-class procurement professional.<\/p>\n
Earning your SPSM Certification is the action to take if you want to bring the most modern procurement practices into your organization and achieve your career potential. Download the SPSM Certification Guide today to learn how to get started on your journey to a more rewarding procurement career!<\/p>\n<\/div>
Download<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>Need Better Performance From Your Procurement Team?<\/h5><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/www.certitrek.com\/nlpa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/12\/services.jpg\" "\\"services\\"")
<\/span><\/div>Are you a procurement leader whose team isn\u2019t achieving the results you know are possible? Maybe it\u2019s not enough cost savings. Or frustrating performance from the supply base. Or dissatisfied internal customers.<\/p>\n
You need a performance improvement plan that\u2019s easy to implement and quick to produce results. The NLPA can help.<\/p>\n
Download our whitepaper \u201cThe Procurement Leader\u2019s Guide To A More Successful Team.\u201d You\u2019ll learn the 7 steps for transforming your staff into a results-producing, world-class procurement team.<\/p>\n<\/div>
What Can You Learn From Vendor References?<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/div>When you select a vendor, a best practice is to check their references. Let’s be honest, a vendor will never give you a poor reference – they will only use customers that they know will be positive references. However, there are a few questions that you can ask which will help give you a balanced, objective assessment of the vendor and let you get the most from the reference call.<\/p>\n
#1: “What’s your relationship with the vendor?”<\/b>\u00a0You want to know if the vendor is a mission critical vendor and how this matches to your requirements. If a vendor is critical to your business but not to the reference’s, the information you get is not necessarily relevant for you. Your service levels and other requirements may be worlds apart from theirs. You need to know that the input you get matters to your business.<\/p>\n
#2: “How do you interact with the vendor?”<\/b>\u00a0Frequently, vendors will ask Purchasing to be a reference. The problem is that Purchasing does the contracts and issues POs, but often isn’t involved day-to-day with the vendor and doesn’t have visibility to quality and service delivery. You should ask to talk with someone in vendor management or, better yet, talk with the business owner of the relationship with the vendor.<\/p>\n
#3: “Describe a situation where the vendor disappointed you, and how they responded.”\u00a0<\/b>Every vendor disappoints clients at times. The real key is how they react to and recover from the issues. A vendor’s response to problems is more important than how they act when things are rosy.<\/p>\n
#4 “What are some things you wish the vendor would do differently?”<\/b>\u00a0If the answer is to improve quality, service, or product delivery, it should be a real warning flag to you. You should then dig deeper to understand the specifics concerns they are having and decide if it is relevant to your business.<\/p>\n
The bottom line is that no vendor will have you talk to a poor reference but you can probe and get objective insights if you ask the right questions. It’s up to you to get the most out of the reference check. And a final tip: Ask the vendor to let you talk to a former client, and ask why they stopped doing business with the vendor.<\/p>\n
With Supplier risk management becoming a top strategic priority for CPOs, Vice Presidents, and Directors of procurement, visit NLPA Learning and check out \u00a0Vendor Risk Management<\/a>\u00a0to learn about the various sources of vendor and supplier risk.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Do You Want a More Rewarding Procurement Career?<\/h5><\/div><\/span><\/div>Are you tired of not getting enough opportunities, respect, and money out of your procurement career? Well, guess what? Nothing will change unless you take action towards becoming a world-class procurement professional.<\/p>\n
Earning your SPSM Certification is the action to take if you want to bring the most modern procurement practices into your organization and achieve your career potential. Download the SPSM Certification Guide today to learn how to get started on your journey to a more rewarding procurement career!<\/p>\n<\/div>
Download<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>Need Better Performance From Your Procurement Team?<\/h5><\/div><\/span><\/div>Are you a procurement leader whose team isn\u2019t achieving the results you know are possible? Maybe it\u2019s not enough cost savings. Or frustrating performance from the supply base. Or dissatisfied internal customers.<\/p>\n
You need a performance improvement plan that\u2019s easy to implement and quick to produce results. The NLPA can help.<\/p>\n
Download our whitepaper \u201cThe Procurement Leader\u2019s Guide To A More Successful Team.\u201d You\u2019ll learn the 7 steps for transforming your staff into a results-producing, world-class procurement team.<\/p>\n<\/div>
When you select a vendor, a best practice is to check their references. Let’s be honest, a vendor will never give you a poor reference – they will only use customers that they know will be positive references. However, there are a few questions that you can ask which will help give you a balanced, objective assessment of the vendor and let you get the most from the reference call.<\/p>\n
#1: “What’s your relationship with the vendor?”<\/b>\u00a0You want to know if the vendor is a mission critical vendor and how this matches to your requirements. If a vendor is critical to your business but not to the reference’s, the information you get is not necessarily relevant for you. Your service levels and other requirements may be worlds apart from theirs. You need to know that the input you get matters to your business.<\/p>\n
#2: “How do you interact with the vendor?”<\/b>\u00a0Frequently, vendors will ask Purchasing to be a reference. The problem is that Purchasing does the contracts and issues POs, but often isn’t involved day-to-day with the vendor and doesn’t have visibility to quality and service delivery. You should ask to talk with someone in vendor management or, better yet, talk with the business owner of the relationship with the vendor.<\/p>\n
#3: “Describe a situation where the vendor disappointed you, and how they responded.”\u00a0<\/b>Every vendor disappoints clients at times. The real key is how they react to and recover from the issues. A vendor’s response to problems is more important than how they act when things are rosy.<\/p>\n
#4 “What are some things you wish the vendor would do differently?”<\/b>\u00a0If the answer is to improve quality, service, or product delivery, it should be a real warning flag to you. You should then dig deeper to understand the specifics concerns they are having and decide if it is relevant to your business.<\/p>\n
The bottom line is that no vendor will have you talk to a poor reference but you can probe and get objective insights if you ask the right questions. It’s up to you to get the most out of the reference check. And a final tip: Ask the vendor to let you talk to a former client, and ask why they stopped doing business with the vendor.<\/p>\n
With Supplier risk management becoming a top strategic priority for CPOs, Vice Presidents, and Directors of procurement, visit NLPA Learning and check out \u00a0Vendor Risk Management<\/a>\u00a0to learn about the various sources of vendor and supplier risk.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> Are you tired of not getting enough opportunities, respect, and money out of your procurement career? Well, guess what? Nothing will change unless you take action towards becoming a world-class procurement professional.<\/p>\n Earning your SPSM Certification is the action to take if you want to bring the most modern procurement practices into your organization and achieve your career potential. Download the SPSM Certification Guide today to learn how to get started on your journey to a more rewarding procurement career!<\/p>\n<\/div> Are you a procurement leader whose team isn\u2019t achieving the results you know are possible? Maybe it\u2019s not enough cost savings. Or frustrating performance from the supply base. Or dissatisfied internal customers.<\/p>\n You need a performance improvement plan that\u2019s easy to implement and quick to produce results. The NLPA can help.<\/p>\n Download our whitepaper \u201cThe Procurement Leader\u2019s Guide To A More Successful Team.\u201d You\u2019ll learn the 7 steps for transforming your staff into a results-producing, world-class procurement team.<\/p>\n<\/div>Do You Want a More Rewarding Procurement Career?<\/h5><\/div>
<\/span><\/div>Need Better Performance From Your Procurement Team?<\/h5><\/div>
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![](\"https:\/\/www.certitrek.com\/nlpa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/12\/services-contracting.jpg\" "\\"services-contracting\\"")
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