During my 10+ years in IT procurement, I’ve experienced the supplier relationship from multiple angles: most of that time on the customer side, and the last two years with Sastrify managing vendor relationships on behalf of our customers. 

Working on the customer side, I sometimes encountered difficulties building successful relationships with vendors. At Sastrify, I can see things from a higher level and understand why it’s so challenging for customers – and why Sastrify is better equipped to manage those relationships.

3 things I’ve learned about supplier relationship management 

After reflecting on my time in IT procurement and the last two years at Sastrify, here are the top three things I’ve learned about managing supplier relationships.

1. A good vendor relationship requires constant effort and communication

A typical customer will maybe have a touchpoint with their account executive once per year. But a successful vendor relationship requires more than that.

• Multiple touchpoints – Staying in contact with the vendor throughout the year is key. Check-ins should happen at least once per quarter.

• Constant effort – Effort must remain consistent. Many customers get so busy that they only respond to emails from vendors when there’s a renewal coming up or something urgent to discuss. But ongoing effort is needed to keep the information level equal and build a better relationship over time.
  
  
• Ask questions – Questions should be asked regularly to the account exec and/or customer success team: Do we have the right license level? Is there anything else we need? Are there new features we should try?

• Get curious about the vendor – Curiosity can build better vendor relationships. Stay up to date with what’s going on in their business and industry. Ask yourself how you can make the relationship mutually beneficial.

In practice, great vendor relationships are quite rare, especially without a dedicated procurement department that’s actively pursuing them.

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2. Time is the key challenge customers face in building vendor relationships

As mentioned above, the main problem buyers usually have is time. A customer might have a touchpoint with a typical vendor once per year or once every two to three years – just when there’s an upcoming renewal.

However, this means the customer doesn’t get to know the vendor very well, making it difficult to know how best to negotiate or work with them throughout the year.

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3. Negotiation is better for both sides when the relationship is strong

Negotiation can be a tricky process for both the customer and the vendor, but when the relationship is solid and maintained throughout the year, the process is easier. 

Customers should remember to always negotiate with the person – the account exec that they’ve gotten to know over time. Knowing this person and communicating with them often is worth a lot financially and can also speed up the negotiation process. (As an example, Sastrify’s strong vendor relationships allows us to cut negotiation time in half for many customers, in addition to the significant cost savings.) 

Why Sastrify is so successful at supplier relationship management

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After having worked on the customer side, I can see now why Sastrify is so good at managing supplier relationships on behalf of customers.

For starters, Sastrify talks to most vendors at least once per week. (Example: I’ve personally talked to Salesforce 50+ times in the last year). Our procurement experts know the vendor account managers well and know the incentives to leverage for different suppliers. Through our many negotiations we’ve learned which things to say, offer, trigger, or ask for that can actually benefit our customer’s contract.

On top of that, we have complete visibility into the customer’s tool stack – something that organizations without a dedicated procurement department typically won’t have. We can manage all the vendor touchpoints across the entire customer account, avoiding any crossed signals between departments. All of this allows us to focus on the bigger picture, align timelines, and maintain just one contract.

The outcome is better pricing, significant time and dollar savings, and optimized contracts for the customer’s needs.

Having experienced supplier relationships from both sides, I can say without a doubt that better long-term outcomes are achieved with Sastrify. Want to see how it all works? Book a quick demo.