Vendor Partnership Best Practices

Procurement: Treat suppliers as extensions of your enterprise, not transactions. Procurement Excellence | 23 NOV 2025 - In complex global markets, resilient supply chains demand partnerships built on shared destiny, not just contracts. Here are 9 Steps to Create Long-Term Supplier Partnerships: #1. Transparent Communication ↳ Co-develop comms protocols e.g. QBR ↳ Clearly share expectations, goals & challenges #2. Long-Term Contracts ↳ Replace short-term with multi year agreements. ↳ Share long-term roadmaps & cost-savings initiatives. #3. Shared Performance Metrics ↳ Jointly agree and track SMART KPIs. ↳ Define escalation paths & RCA templates #4. Early Supplier Involvement ↳ Involve and recognize vendor’s contributions. ↳ Include key suppliers in product development cycles. #5. Guarantee Timely Payments ↳ Automate payment & consider early payment discounts. ↳ Audit internal processes for bottlenecks. #6. Co-Create Innovation ↳ Create supplier ideation portals & protect IP collaboratively. ↳ Fund joint proof-of-concept projects. #7. Recognize & Reward Excellence ↳Formally acknowledge & reward outstanding suppliers. ↳Bronze (Operational Excellence), Silver (Innovation), Gold (Strategic Impact). #8. Uphold Fairness & Ethics ↳ Interactions & contractual terms are mutually beneficial. ↳ Ensure cost pressures don't force unethical labor. #9. Jointly Manage Risks ↳ Jointly identify risks & develop contingency plans. ↳ Map tier-2/3 suppliers collaboratively. In today's volatile market, Resilient supply chains are built on deep, strategic supplier partnerships. Achieving lasting, mutually beneficial supplier partnerships requires: ✅️ Deliberate strategy ✅️ Centered on trust ✅️ Shared objectives ✅️ Continuous collaboration ♻️ Repost if you find this helpful. ➕️ Follow Frederick for Procurement insights. #ProcurementExcellence #SupplierCollaboration

Your vendors are bleeding you dry—not money, time. After managing 100+ vendor relationships across Microsoft, Instacart, and our portfolio companies, I built a system that cuts project timelines by 70%. The problem: You think hiring experts means abdicating responsibility. Wrong. Your vendors manage 50 other clients. You're not their priority unless you make yourself one. Four Frameworks That Actually Work: 1. Deconstruct Your Blockers Don't ask "what's the update?" Ask "what specific approval are we waiting for?" Financial? Technical? Legal? You can't fix what you can't name. I've seen 6-week delays resolved in one call once we identified the actual blocker. 2. Own the Project Management Your vendors are specialists, not coordinators. Schedule the calls. Create the docs. Connect the dots. Yes, you're doing their job. It's also the highest-leverage work you can do. 3. Demand Time Boxes "We're working on it" = infinite timeline "Engineering review takes 5-7 days" = accountability Even vague deadlines beat no deadlines. One portfolio company cut deployment cycles 60% just by requiring time estimates. 4. Confidence ≠ Commitment "We're confident about approval" isn't "It's approved." Push for binary answers. This distinction alone prevents countless surprises. The Process: Monday: Status email to all parties Wednesday: 15-min sync if blocked Friday: Document decisions + next actions Rule: Never let a week pass without documented progress Real Results: Applied this to 6 portfolio companies last quarter: Project completion: 12 weeks → 4 weeks Cost overruns: Down 40% Vendor performance: Up 70% Best part? Our vendors started using our process with other clients. Advanced Play: Create quarterly vendor scorecards. Measure response time, timeline accuracy, and technical competence. Share transparently. Performance improves within one quarter. Why This Matters: Every week of delay costs runway. Every vendor inefficiency is a competitor's opportunity. The companies that scale aren't the ones with the best vendors—they're the ones who best manage them. Your Move: Pick your worst vendor relationship. Apply one framework this week. Document what changes. Vendor management isn't sexy, but neither is running out of runway because every project takes 3x longer than it should. What vendor challenges are you facing? Share what's worked (or hasn't) below. — Enjoy this? ♻️ Repost it to your network and follow Kevin Henrikson for more. Weekly frameworks on AI, startups, leadership, and scaling. Join 2000+ subscribers today: https://lnkd.in/gstGkhJF

Your suppliers are tired of being squeezed. And they're starting to say no. I'm seeing it everywhere: → Suppliers refusing to bid → Price increases you can't negotiate → Service quality declining → Innovation drying up What changed? Procurement got too aggressive. Net 90 payment terms. Annual RFPs with no guarantee. Zero-sum negotiations. Treating suppliers like commodities. It worked... until it didn't. Now suppliers have options. They're walking away from bad clients. And guess what? You're the bad client. Here's what needs to change: 1. Fair payment terms Net 90 isn't a "negotiation tactic." It's a financing strategy on their back. Would you wait 90 days for your paycheck? Neither should they. Move to Net 30. Better yet? Net 15 for small suppliers. 2. Multi-year partnerships Stop running annual RFPs for strategic suppliers. Give them 3-year commitments with performance reviews. Let them invest in your relationship. Let them innovate for you. 3. Transparent communication If you're struggling financially, tell them. If volumes are dropping, share it. If timelines are changing, communicate early. They can't help you if they don't know what's happening. 4. Collaborative negotiations Stop talking about "winning" negotiations. If your supplier loses, you lose. Unhappy suppliers deliver poor service. Poor service costs you more than you "saved." 5. Innovation investment Your best suppliers have great ideas. But they won't share them if you're going to shop them. Create innovation partnerships: → Early involvement in product development → Joint problem-solving sessions → Shared risk/reward models The shift: From: Adversarial → To: Collaborative From: Transaction → To: Partnership From: Cost → To: Value Your suppliers make you successful. When they thrive, you thrive. When they innovate, you innovate. When they prioritize you, you win. The best procurement professionals know this. They build relationships that outlast any single contract. They create partnerships that generate mutual value. They understand: the cheapest price is rarely the best deal. How to start: Pick your top 3 suppliers by strategic importance. Schedule a relationship review. Ask them: "What can we do better as a customer?" Then actually listen. And act on what they tell you. That one conversation will change everything. • • • What's one thing you could do to improve supplier relationships? 👇

One week after a customer panel, I asked supplier leadership what they remembered. They summarized the four requirements accurately and unprompted. That is when you know the message landed. A few weeks ago I shared reflections from our Supplier Day on how trust and performance are built through honest dialogue. This customer panel reinforced the same point: strong supplier partnerships run on clear expectations and disciplined execution. These are four requirements I expect in every strategic supplier relationship: 1) Communicate early, especially when issues arise. We have high expectations for delivery and quality. Transparency is non-negotiable. Early signals create options: containment, mitigation, and joint decision-making. Late surprises remove those options. I also recognize a cultural reality: in some environments, escalating bad news early can feel uncomfortable. We explicitly want early, fact-based escalation without blame so we can protect outcomes together. 2) Align roadmaps to real customer needs. Innovation matters when it solves the right problem. Progress requires shared priorities, clear “must-have” versus “nice-to-have,” and decisions documented so alignment holds across functions, sites, and regions. 3) Drive efficiency in manufacturing and share the benefits. Competitiveness is not optional. I expect continuous productivity and cost efficiency, supported by data and a visible pipeline of improvements. And I expect the value created to be shared in a transparent way. Sustainable partnerships are built on fairness and continuous improvement, not one-sided gains. 4) Build resilience and reliability in supply. In healthcare, reliability is value. We need predictable delivery performance, robust processes, realistic capacity planning, and transparent risk management. Resilience is not a project. It is a capability that must be built, measured, and maintained. When supplier leadership can articulate these expectations clearly, it becomes a solid starting point for improving how we work together. This is where strategic procurement creates lasting value: setting standards, building governance and early-warning routines behind them, and turning supplier relationships into: - a source of reliability, - efficiency, and - competitive advantage. If you are working on strengthening supplier governance, resilience, and productivity at scale, I am always interested in exchanging approaches. What practices have you seen work best to embed these expectations into day-to-day supplier management? #StrategicProcurement #SupplierPartnerships #Resilience #Reliability #SupplyChain #OperationalExcellence #Manufacturing #Leadership

What Makes an Ideal Business Partner (and What Doesn't) I've worked with hundreds of vendors, CROs, CDMOs, service providers, and consultants over the years. Some became trusted partners. Others became expensive lessons. Over time, I've learned that the best vendors share these key traits: ownership, reliability, integrity, and respect. Many years ago, I worked with two vendors on similar projects. Both had impressive track records on paper. Both understood the needs. But one needed constant direction and quality fell short. The other asked the right questions, flagged risks early, and invoiced actual hours instead of the maximum, and never made excuses. The second one earned our trust. Over the years, I've accumulated 50 points of what best partners do. Here are the first 20. 1. Understand before execute. 2. Clarify early. Misalignment costs everyone more. 3. Invoice actual hours, not the maximum allowed. 4. Don't create extra work to look busy or extend billing. 5. Take initiative. 6. Reliability and consistency create confidence and trust. 7. Deliver value, not motion. 8. QC before delivery. Always. 9. Manage timelines. 10. Don't learn on the job. Clients pay for expertise, not training. 11. Apply judgement, not blanket process. Every project is unique. 12. Know the client's specifications and meet them. 13. Schedule around the client's time zone. Small gestures reflect big respect. 14. Bring solutions, not just problems. 15. Deliver with quality. Rework destroys trust and budgets. 16. Staff projects with qualified people, not whoever's available. 17. Don't accept substandard work. 18. Meet the client's standards. Their bar is your baseline. 19. Don't rely on clients to catch your errors. 20. Get to the point. Always.

Stop treating your CRO like a vendor - and start treating them like a partner. CROs aren't just service providers you hire and forget. Instead, they are strategic partners who can make or break your study success. Instead of: "We hired them to execute our plan."   Think: "We partnered with them to achieve our shared goals." But - what does make a sponsor-CRO relationship successful? Trust: The basis for solving problems together. When a site is struggling with enrollment, the partners brainstorm solutions as a team rather than playing the blame game. Transparency: The best sponsors give their CROs full context and not just task lists. The better I know the sponsor's goals, the better I can manage (my/your) our study. The partners have a common goal. Flexibility: We need to acknowledge that protocols may change, timelines shift, and unexpected challenges arise. The better the risk assessment, the higher the accepted need for flexibility. Respect: We must not forget that success is collective. Partnering on the sponsor side means: Choosing CROs based on capability and cultural fit, not just the lowest bid.  Investing time in relationship building, not just contract negotiations. And providing regular feedback, not just when problems arise. And CROs? They should think like owners, not contractors. They bring solutions and consult in case of challenges. They communicate proactively, especially when things go wrong. Let us be honest: Most CRO professionals entered this industry for the same reason as pharma, biotech or medtech professionals: Namely to help bringing life-changing treatments to patients. What does partnership look like in your sponsor-CRO relationship? #ClinicalResearch #SponsorCRO #Partnership #ClinicalTrials #Collaboration 

𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝, 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫: 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. Taking shortcuts can lead to wasted money and a world of headaches downstream. (𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵-𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘙𝘍𝘗 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴?!) 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝: 💡 𝙁𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩: Be specific about your needs in RFx docs. If you’re unclear, suppliers will be, too. Before going to RFP, always have quantifiable evaluation criteria finalized and approved by the Spend Owner. 💡 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙚: The cheapest option often costs the most in the long run. Prioritize value over price. Suppliers who price things materially lower than benchmark norms usually cut corners somewhere to meet margins. 💡 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙠 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙡𝙮: Source independent references via your network. Past performance tells the real story. Ask the right questions and listen closely to the answers.  💡 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙: Can the supplier grow and evolve with your business? Are they innovative and flexible? Does their company culture and ways of working align with yours?  💡 𝙆𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙨: Most suppliers come with some level of risk, the key is understanding and managing it. Conduct due diligence on short-listed suppliers. Outputs should inform the down-selection process, with material deficiency action items included in the contract. 💡 𝘾𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙧𝙨: The best suppliers care about your long-term success and aligning with your goals.  Look at proposals holistically, thinking beyond the transaction and into value creation. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠: Looking back, I’ve been at firms in seasons where costs were prioritized over total value, often leading to short-term gains but long-term challenges. There were times I should’ve taken a firmer stance about material supplier risks identified and bias in the selection process.  As procurement peeps, we provide recommendations based on long-term value, risk management, and partnership potential. This includes having the courage to speak up with informed and actionable guidance when things don't pass muster. The goal is to ensure sourcing outcomes build a foundation for success, not just a quick win. 📢 𝙋.𝙎. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 “𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙨” 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛?

I’ve spent the last few years evaluating 100+ data vendors, building ingestion pipelines for trillions of signal rows, & leading a next-level data team... here are the 4 criteria any buyer of data need to consider (+ who is the best): At Warmly, we eval 10+ providers monthly to find the best-in-class. Here’s the 4-part filter we use to separate the pretenders from the partners (& how Demandbase stands out from the noise as a true partner): 1. Quality ↳ Pre-work: Build a cross-referenceable sample set with both ICP and junk data. Know what “good” looks like. ↳ Key question: What % of the sample matches ICP, and does the vendor correctly not match the junk/fake data? ↳ Rationale: You want vendors that prioritize accuracy over appearance. If they match junk, they’re willing to mislead you. ↳ ❌ Red herring: Chasing overall match rates. 60%+ match on *ICP leads* is elite—even if total match rate is lower. 2. Quantity ↳ Pre-work: Use a large sample set (10k+ leads or IPs) to test for enrichment scale. ↳ Key question: How much of my data set can this vendor enrich—and with what depth? ↳ Rationale: You need breadth and optionality. Top vendors return multiple match options, confidence-ranked. ↳ ❌ Red herring: Thinking “one match per lead” is a good thing. It’s a shortcut for poor coverage. 3. Ease-of-use / Implementation ↳ Pre-work: Read their docs. Set a test window. Know what success looks like. ↳ Key question: Can they deliver real-time data via clean APIs or flat files? Can they do it in 0.1 seconds? ↳ Rationale: Fast, flexible onboarding is a proxy for maturity. Vendors that drag their feet delivering data don't have the resources to support you long term. ↳ ❌ Red herring: No SLAs. If they can’t commit to uptime or dedicated support, expect chaos later. 4. Partner vs. Rent-Seeker ↳ Pre-work: Do reference checks. Ask the hard questions. ↳ Key question: Is this vendor aligned to grow with us—or just here for the quick MRR hit? ↳ Rationale: Long-term success is built on mutual investment. You want alignment, not upsell traps. ↳ ❌ Red herring: Price. Cheap vendors often cost more in the long run—especially if they disappear when you push back. ---- Of the vendors we’ve reviewed, Demandbase consistently stands out on every front. They don’t just sell data. They act like a partner—technical, responsive, and aligned. If you’re navigating the intent data landscape and need a second opinion, I’m happy to share notes. What criteria do you use to evaluate data vendors? #abm #intentdata #partnership

This is the most underrated problem I've seen when trying to build or expand partnership GTM: Leadership is initially fully behind a new partnership, excited about its potential, but that enthusiasm never makes its way down to the sales teams who are expected to execute. Without alignment, even the best partnership can stall before it has a chance to succeed. Why does this happen? Sales teams are often focused on their core products, and if a partnership doesn’t clearly benefit them or fit into their day-to-day operations, it becomes an afterthought. To turn things around, you need to make sure your partnership incentives, compensation, and training are in lockstep with the teams that will be selling your product. Here’s how to align incentives and drive results: 1. Ensure your incentives are compelling enough for frontline teams. It’s not enough to excite leadership—sales teams need a clear, tangible reason to sell your product. - Introduce a financial incentive or bonus structure that’s competitive with what reps earn on their core products. This could be a one-time bonus for the first sale, or an ongoing commission that rewards consistent effort. -Tie the incentive to their existing sales goals. If your product helps them hit their targets more easily, they’ll naturally prioritize it. 2. Structure partner compensation to motivate co-selling. If your partner compensation doesn’t align with their core goals, they won’t push your product. - Design a compensation plan that aligns with both the partner’s and your business objectives. For instance, if your partner’s core offering is hardware, incentivize bundling your software as part of the sale to create a win-win situation. - Offer performance-based incentives that reward partners for hitting key milestones—whether that’s a certain number of units sold, a specific revenue target, or even customer engagement metrics. Keep it simple and measurable. 3. Provide consistent training and engagement so your product isn’t just another checkbox. Sales teams won’t advocate for your product if they don’t fully understand its value or how to sell it. - Develop ongoing, bite-sized training sessions that fit into their schedules. Instead of overwhelming them with lengthy sessions, focus on 15-minute, high-impact trainings that teach them how to identify the right opportunities. -Pair training with real-time support. Join sales calls, offer one-pagers, and provide direct assistance during key customer engagements. When they feel supported, they’re more likely to feel confident pushing your product. This kind of alignment can make the difference between a stalled partnership and a thriving one. When sales teams are motivated, equipped, and incentivized to sell your product, the partnership stops being just another checkbox—it becomes a key driver of growth.

Early in my purchase career, I noticed a pattern. Our team would negotiate hard, close contracts, and move on. On paper—it looked perfect. 📉 Costs were reduced 📊 Reports were clean But something was missing. Suppliers didn’t feel like partners. They were just “vendors.” One day, a critical shipment got delayed. Instead of excuses, the supplier personally called and said: “Don’t worry, I’ll prioritize your delivery. You’ve always treated us fairly.” That moment changed how I saw procurement. It isn’t just about transactions. It’s about trust. Since then, my approach has been: ✅ Build long-term supplier relationships ✅ Focus on transparency, not just negotiation ✅ Treat every purchase as a partnership, not a bargain hunt And the results proved it: ✔️ Faster resolutions during crises ✔️ Better quality without micromanagement ✔️ A resilient supply chain built on mutual respect Management Lesson: In procurement, numbers matter. But people matter more. #Procurement #SupplyChain #Leadership #BusinessRelationships