This month I am reviewing The Vendor Management Office: Unleashing the Power of Strategic Sourcing, by Stephen Guth, Esq. published by Lulu Press, Inc. 2001
Stephen Guth’s The Vendor Management Office is the go to book if you want to want to understand more about vendor management; set up a vendor management office; or see how your company can benefit from establishing it.
Stephen explains that the vendor management office was established in the early 2000s was because companies needed more focus “on the total cost of ownership and the entire vendor lifecycle”. Vendor Management is different from sourcing on it’s own it manages the entire life cycle of the contract.
Stephen Guth describes it as: “A Vendor Management Office is a strategically-focused purchasing organisation comprised of highly-skilled business advisors who are entrusted with strategic sourcing and management of vendor relationships such that investments in key commodities are maximised to the fullest extent and risk to the business is minimised.”
In Stephen’s opinion the vendor management office needs to be aligned the strategic needs of the organisation. This helps the staff of the VMO steer the vendor relationships in line with the organisation’s path.
When Stephen describes the VMO he includes the function of strategic procurement and the legal function needs to sit within the vendor management office. His view that the legal functions should sit within the VMO is interesting, and I am wondering after almost 17 years on from writing whether this view has changed. There are many very focused legal and strategic procurement teams who collaborate well.
The book goes into some detail on the skills needed for VMO staff but it is really interesting that Stephen says that the ” most critical attribute of VMO staff member is a commitment to customer service”. Stephen provides a list of other skill such staff members should have. A suggested pre-screening process for potential candidates is also provided.
The book describes how to establish the function including the service levels and key performance indicators of the vendor management office itself.
This is a great book and I really have not touched on all thought-provoking points in this book. It will be a book that you can dip into for specific requirements as well as helping you to put structure establishing a VMO function and can be purchased here. https://www.amazon.com/Vendor-Management-Office-Unleashing-Strategic/dp/1435703839/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518027292&sr=8-1&keywords=stephen+guth